The Gap Boasts Another Encouraging Month Of Comp Sales

While delivering better-than-anticipated October comps, Gap Inc GPS announced its Q3 EPS ahead of expectations. “We [...] remain encouraged by signs of underlying sales/margin stabilization, supporting near-term momentum in the stock,” Credit Suisse’s Mark R. Altschwager said in a report.

Analyst Altschwager maintains a Neutral rating on the company, while raising the price target from $27 to $28.

October And Q3

Gap reported its consolidated October comps at -1 percent, better than the consensus expectation of -2.6 percent. This included a -3 percent impact from the Fishkill distribution center fire.

Total October sales came in at $1.20 billion, broadly in line with Credit Suisse’s Street-high estimate, “with the strongest performance in Week 4 (traffic improvement) and the West region leading,” Altschwager mentioned.

Total Q3 sales stood at $3.80 billion, down 1.5 percent year-over-year but better than the consensus expectation of $3.73 billion. Gap announced its Q3 adjusted-EPS guidance at $0.59–$0.60, higher than the consensus of $0.53.

“While we anticipated some upside to Q3 EPS estimates, we're encouraged to see margin upside come to fruition in October. We believe momentum at Old Navy and some signs of underlying improvement at Gap (excluding DC headwinds) can support recent momentum in the stock. That said, there is some noise in the numbers and the broader apparel growth backdrop remains muted,” the analyst added.