Finances

Kohl’s Corporation (KSS) reported its third quarter earnings results on Tuesday, November 25. The department store chain reported higher-than-expected sales, which resulted in shares rising by over 34% following the earnings release.

The company reported net sales of $3.41 billion for the quarter. This was down 2.8% from $3.51 billion this time last year but above analysts' expectations of $3.32 billion.

“We are pleased with Kohl’s third quarter results, marking a third consecutive quarter of delivering top-line and bottom-line performance ahead of our expectations,” said Kohl’s CEO, Michael Bender. “These results are a direct reflection of the progress we are making against our 2025 initiatives, reinforcing our confidence as we continue to move in the right direction.”

The company posted net income of $8 million or $0.07 per diluted share. This was down from net income of $22 million or $0.20 per diluted share during the same quarter last year.

The Wisconsin-based company reported a decrease in its comparable sales of 1.7% year-over-year. Third quarter gross margin increased by 51 basis points compared to the prior year. The company reported inventory of $3.9 billion, a decrease of 5% from last year. Kohl’s Board of Directors appointed Michael Bender as CEO and announced a quarterly cash dividend for common stock of $0.125 per share, payable on December 24, 2025, to shareholders of record on December 10, 2025. For full-year fiscal 2025, Kohl’s raised its guidance and expects comparable sales to decrease 2.5% to 3% and diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.25 to $1.45.

Kohl’s Corporation (KSS) shares ended on Wednesday, 11/26 at $24.10, up 52.5% for the holiday week.

Best Buy Releases Earnings Report

Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) posted its third quarter earnings on Tuesday, November 25. The company’s shares were up about 5% after reporting earnings that beat analysts’ expectations.

The company’s quarterly revenue came in at $9.67 billion, up from $9.45 billion during the same quarter last year. This was above analysts’ expected revenue of $9.59 billion.

“We are pleased to report better-than-expected sales and adjusted operating income rate for the third quarter,” said Best Buy CEO, Corie Barry. “We are flexing the unique strength of our model as customers need to upgrade or replace their consumer electronics and new products and innovation are coming to market. I want to thank our employees for their dedication to providing great customer experiences and their strong execution in delivering our Q3 results, setting us up well for an exciting holiday season.”

For the quarter, Best Buy reported net earnings of $140 million or $0.66 per diluted share. This was down from $273 million or $1.26 per diluted share reported last year at this time.

The electronics retailer’s sales increased year-over-year across domestic and international categories. In the Domestic segment, revenue rose by 2.1% and came in at $8.88 billion, an increase attributable to a jump in domestic comparable sales of 2.4%. International revenue climbed by 6.1% to $794 million stemming from a comparable sales growth of 6.3%. Best Buy adjusted its full-year guidance and expects revenue of $41.65 billion to $41.95 billion with an increase of 0.5% to 1.2% in comparable sales. The company announced it authorized payment of a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.95 per common share payable on January 6, 2026, to shareholders of record on December 16, 2025.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) shares ended on Wednesday, 11/26 at $80.98, up 5.8% for the holiday week.

DICK'S Sporting Goods Announces Earnings

DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS) announced its third quarter earnings on Tuesday, November 25. The Pittsburgh-based sporting goods chain’s shares fell by approximately 3% after the report was released.

The retailer reported quarterly net sales of $4.17 billion. This was up from $3.06 billion at the same time last year and more than analysts' expectations of $3.59 billion.

"The effectiveness of our long-term strategies and the best-in-class execution by our team are driving outstanding results for our DICK'S Business,” said DICK’S Sporting Goods CEO, Lauren Hobart. “Reflecting these strong results and our continued confidence, we are again raising our full-year 2025 outlook for the DICK'S Business. Finally, we welcome our Foot Locker team members to the DICK'S family, and we are excited about the journey underway to return the Foot Locker Business to its rightful place in our industry."

For the third quarter, DICK’S reported net income of $75.21 million or $0.86 per diluted share. This was down from $227.81 million or $2.75 per diluted share reported at this time last year.  

The company’s comparable store sales increased 5.7% in the third quarter, compared to last year’s increase of 4.3%. DICK’S completed the acquisition of Foot Locker, a leading footwear and apparel retailer, for $2.5 billion in an effort to raise revenue in a competitive sneaker market. The company raised its full-year guidance and now expects comparable store sales to increase between 3.5% to 4.0% and earnings per diluted share between $14.25 to $14.55. The company announced that it authorized a quarterly dividend of $1.2125 per share of common stock and Class B common stock payable on December 26, 2025, to shareholders of record on December 12, 2025.

DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS) shares ended on Wednesday, 11/26 at $207.41, remaining relatively unchanged for the holiday week.

The Dow started the holiday week of 11/24 at 46,352 and closed at 47,427 on 11/26. The S&P 500 started the week at 6,637 and closed at 6,813. The NASDAQ started the week at 22,482 and closed at 23,215.

U.S. Treasury yields dipped early in the week as investors reacted to the release of monthly producer prices which indicated a potential cooling of inflation. Yields rose on Wednesday as jobless claims reached a seven-month low with fewer Americans filing for unemployment benefits.

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released September’s producer price index (PPI), which measures the average change over time in the selling prices of goods. The September PPI grew 0.3%, in line with economists’ estimates. Year-over-year, the increase in wholesale prices reached 2.7%, still pushing above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Tuesday’s PPI report “helps to justify the argument for another Federal Reserve rate cut in December, since it is clear that inflation is under control, giving the Fed the opportunity to focus more on the labor market, which has been cooling in recent months,” said president and CIO at Bellwether Wealth, Clark Bellin. “While this data is old and from September, it is the only inflation data the Fed has to base its current decisions off of.”

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield opened the week of November 24 at 4.07% and traded as low as 3.99% on Tuesday. The 30-year Treasury bond opened the week at 4.71% and traded as low as 4.64% on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for unemployment dropped by 6,000 to 216,000 for the week ending November 22. This was below economists’ estimates of 230,000. Continuing unemployment claims increased by 7,000 to 1.96 million.

"No one can construe any story about a surge in layoffs from this report," said chief economist at High Frequency Economics, Carl Weinberg. "The message to the Fed from this data point is that there is no reason to rush to cut rates in December."

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the holiday week of 11/24 at 4.00%, while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 4.64%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey on Wednesday, November 26. The survey showed mortgage rates decreasing on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday.

This week, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.23%, down from last week’s average of 6.26%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.81%.

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.51% this week, down from last week’s 5.54%. During the same week last year, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.10%.

“Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, mortgage rates decreased,” said Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, Sam Khater. “With pending home sales at the highest level since last November, homebuyer activity continues to show resilience as we near the end of the year.”

Based on published national averages, the savings rate was 0.40% as of 11/17. The one-year CD averaged 1.64%.

Editor’s Note: The publicly available financial information is offered as a helpful and informative service to our friends. This article is not an endorsement of any company, product or service.