Nordstrom Shares Plunge After Company Misses Wall Street Expectations

Shares of Nordstrom Inc. tanked 16% late Thursday after the Seattle-based retailer reported lower-than-expected third-quarter results, thanks in part to costs related to selling its credit-card business earlier this year. Nordstrom said it earned $81 million, or 42 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with 73 cents a share in the year-ago period. Sales reached $3.2 billion, compared with $3 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the retailer to report earnings of 73 cents a share on sales of $3.38 billion. Results were below the company's expectations and reflect softer sales trends across all merchandise categories, Nordstrom said. Shares of Nordstrom had ended the regular session Thursday up 1.9%.