Office Depot's Parent Company ODP Slashes 2024 Outlook After Weak Q3 Earnings, Eyes B2B Pivot To Offset Retail Woes

The ODP Corporation ODP shares are trading lower on Wednesday.

The company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 71 cents, missing the street view of $1.60.

Quarterly sales of $1.780 billion, down 11% year-over-year, missed the analyst consensus of $1.820 billion.

The decrease in reported sales is largely related to lower sales in its Office Depot Division, primarily due to 53 fewer retail locations in service compared to the previous year and reduced transactions, as well as lower sales in its ODP Business Solutions Division.

“We’re leveraging our differentiated core strengths to pivot towards higher growth B2B opportunities, and we are beginning to see promising traction at both our ODP Business Solutions and Veyer Divisions,” said Gerry Smith, chief executive officer. 

Also Read: Trump’s Big Tech Policies: What GOP Victory Means For Apple, Google, Microsoft

In the quarter under review, adjusted EBITDA was $62 million, compared to $138 million in the year-ago period.

As of September 28, ODP had total available liquidity of approximately $728 million, consisting of $192 million in cash and equivalents.

In a separate press release, the company announced a partnership with a nationally recognized strategic reseller. This partnership, worth up to $1.5 billion spanning a 10-year period, will leverage the reseller provider’s expertise in creating custom, results-driven e-commerce solutions and the company’s extensive fulfillment centers and delivery network.

Outlook: ODP has lowered its full-year 2024 adjusted EPS guidance from a range of $4.25 – $5.00 to $3.10 – $3.80, below the $4.27 analyst estimate.

The company expects sales to be approximately $7 billion (prior view: at least $7 billion), compared to the $7.09 billion estimate.

Price Action: ODP shares are trading lower by 15.2% to $26.37 at last check Wednesday.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Read Next:

• Trump’s Historic Return: 7 Ways His Second Term Could Impact The US Economy