Office Depot (ODP) Falls Short of Expectations

Office Depot (ODP) declined 21% today after missing its quarterly earnings report. Analysts had expected earnings of 8 cents per share and Office Depot missed by 1 cent. This is on the heels of an upgrade from Credit Suisse which had rated the shares at Neutral. Sales dropped 6% based on the closing of 120 stores. Same store sales declined 1%. This isn't good news for office supply stores. If Office Depot is having trouble hitting its numbers during an economic recession, how are other retailers holding up? Investors need to keep an eye on Staples to see if Office Depot's earnings are a precursor of things to come or just an aberration.