J.C. Penney same-store sales plummet 26.1 percent

J.C. Penney Co Inc reported a 26.1 percent decline in third-quarter sales at stores open at least a year, a steeper drop than the 17.9 percent that Wall Street analysts were expecting.

Penney said on Friday that its net loss had narrowed to $123 million, or 56 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Oct. 27 from $143 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier.

Overall sales fell 26.6 percent to $2.93 billion.