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Will Columbia Sportswear (COLM) Disappoint in Q4 Earnings?

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Apparel retailer, Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM - Free Report) is slated to report fourth-quarter 2016 results on Feb 9. The question lingering in investors’ minds now is, whether the company will be able to continue with its positive earnings surprise streak in the quarter to be reported. In the trailing four quarters, it outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 18.2%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors Influencing This Quarter

While Columbia Sportswear boasts a strong earnings surprise history, things don’t appear to be as rosy for the upcoming fourth-quarter results. Just like other apparel companies, the company remains susceptible to the global economic challenges, which impacted its results in the previous quarter. The dismal performace of the industry has affected the price movement of the shares as well. The shares of the company have declined 2.7% in the past six months underperforming the Zacks categorized Consumer Discretionary sector which gained 8.4% during the same time frame.

Further, cold and harsh weather in metropolitan areas and snow sports regions are required for a good start to the outerwear season prior to Black Friday. However, an unseasonably warm October and late arrival of winter prevented the company from gaining the benefit of early orders. Hence, soft sales are anticipated to hinder the fourth-quarter results as well.

Management’s 2016 outlook incorporates the anticipated effects of recent macroeconomic headwinds. The Portland, OR-based retailer has lowered its full-year 2016 earnings guidance when it reported weak results in third-quarter 2016. The company now expects 2016 earnings to be in the range of $2.55–$2.65 compared with a range of $2.60–$2.70 expected previously. Operating profit is now anticipated to be in the range of $250–$259 million compared with a range of $254–$263 million expected earlier. Further, the company has been experiencing downward estimate revisions in the past 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2016 and 2017 declined by 1.9% and 2%, respectively over the past 30 days.

Columbia Sportswear is facing macroeconomic challenges in Russia. Additionally, slow growth in the China business is hampering the overall sales growth of the company. Columbia and prAna brands are also suffering setbacks in Korea as there is a general shift of consumer preference away from outdoor sector apparel in the region. The trend is expected to continue in the fourth quarter and negatively impact the to-be-reported quarter as well.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Columbia Sportswear is likely to beat earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. This is not the case here, as you will see below:

Zacks ESP:Columbia Sportswear currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at $1.10. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: ColumbiaSportswear carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies in the broader consumer discretionary space that have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

Lululemon Athletics Inc. (LULU - Free Report) , with an Earnings ESP of +0.99% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Time Warner Inc. , with an earnings ESP of +1.68% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Marriott International (MAR - Free Report) , with an earnings ESP of +1.2% and a Zacks Rank #2.

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