Michael's Leaps On Earnings Beat

Share of Michael's Co. [s:mik] surged 9% on Thursday after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings. The retailer said it had net income of $35.56 million, or 19 cents per share, vs. $35.62 million, or 17 cents, a year ago. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 17 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 16 cents. Net sales totaled $1.073 billion, compared to $1.06 billion in the year-earlier period and compared to $1.058 billion forecast by FactSet. Same-store sales rose 0.6% during the quarter, ahead of the consensus for a 1.0% decline. The company now expects same-store sales will increase between 0.5% and 1.5% for the full year, with earnings per share of between $2.11 and $2.16. Michael's shares are down 4.1% for the year, compared to a 9.2% gain for the S&P 500 [s:sp50].