Gap Shares Soar On Strong Second-quarter Earnings, 2017 Outlook Hike

Shares of Gap Inc. rallied in Thursday's extended session after the retailer posted better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its 2017 earnings outlook. The company, whose brands include the namesake chain of stores, Banana Republic and Old Navy, reported its second-quarter earnings more than doubled to $271 million, or 68 cents a share, from $125 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, Gap would have earned 58 cents. Revenue slipped to $3.8 billion from $3.85 billion, in part due to negative impact from foreign exchange fluctuations. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 52 cents a share on revenue of $3.77 billion. Same-store sales grew 1% in the second quarter, improving from a decline of 2% in the same period last year. The company raised its 2017 adjusted earnings per share outlook to a range of $2.02 to $2.10 versus $1.95 to $2.05 projected in May. Gap shares jumped 11% after hours.