Tiffany posts weak 1Q sales

Tiffany & Co. took a hit in early trading Wednesday after it reported a surprise drop in comparable-store sales and disappointing first-quarter revenue.

The upscale New York jewelry store has struggled with weak sales as competition intensifies from online players like Amazon and Blue Nile. It's also lost some of its luster with millennials.

Frederic Cumenal stepped down In February less than two years after being tasked with reviving the brand. Chairman and one-time CEO Michael Kowalski has taken the lead on an interim basis.

Tiffany's first-quarter net income of $92.9 million actually beat Wall Street expectations on a per-share basis. Profit was 74 cents, easily topping expectations for 70 cents, according to a poll of industry analysts by Zacks Investment Research.

That, however, was overshadowed by the company's sales performance. Revenue was $899.6 million, far short of the $915.9 million that analysts were seeking.

And global sales at stores opened at least a year fell 2 percent, when Wall Street was looking for an increase of 1.6 percent.

Shares fell close to 6 percent, or $5.39, to $87.75 before the opening bell.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TIF at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TIF

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Keywords: Tiffany, Earnings Report