Barnes & Noble Shares Drop As Sales Fall Short Of Estimates

Barnes & Noble Inc. shares slid 3.8% premarket Thursday, after the company missed sales estimates for its first fiscal quarter. The bookstore chain said it had a net loss of $14.4 million, or 20 cents a share, in the quarter to end July, after a loss of $34.8 million, or 68 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding charges, it had a net loss from continuing operations of 7 cents a share, narrower than the FactSet consensus for a loss of 18 cents a share. Sales fell 6.6% to $913.9 million, below the FactSet consensus of $958 million. Same-store sales fell 6%, far more than the 0.4% drop FactSet analysts were expecting. "Given the softer than expected sales results to date, and the expected continuation of the challenging retail environment, the Company now expects fiscal 2017 comparable store sales to decline in the low single digits," the company said in a statement. Shares have gained 42% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%. .