Tiffany's Stock Slips After Profit, Sales Miss Expectations

Tiffany & Co.'s stock fell 2% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the high-end jewelry retailer reported fiscal third-quarter profit and net sales that fell shy of expectations and lowered its sales outlook. Net earnings for the quarter ended Oct. 31 fell to $38 million, or 29 cents a share, from $95 million, or 73 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, the adjusted per-share profit was 76 cents, below the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of 77 cents. Revenue rose 5% to $959.6 million, missing analyst forecasts of $968 million, weighed by a 12% decline in Japan sales. Overall same-store sales rose 4%, above expectations of 3.8%. Tiffany affirmed its full fiscal year earnings-per-share view of $4.20 to $4.30, but lowered its percentage growth outlook for sales to a "mid-to-high-single-digit" range from "high-single-digit" range. The stock has climbed 13% so far this year through Monday, compared with a 12% rally in the S&P 500.