Tiffany's Stock Rocked By Sales Miss, Downbeat Outlook

Tiffany & Co.'s stock dropped 4.4% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the high-end jewelry retailer missed fiscal first-quarter sales expectations and provided a downbeat profit outlook, citing lower spending by tourists. For the quarter ended April 30, earnings fell to $87.5 million, or 69 cents a share, from $104.9 million, or 81 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 68 cents. Revenue declined to $891.3 million from $962.4 million, missing the FactSet consensus of $917.1 million. Same-store sales declined 9%, compared with the FactSet consensus of a 4.8% drop. For the full fiscal year, Tiffany expects EPS to decline in the mid-single-digit percentage range, while the FactSet consensus of $3.76 implies a 1.8% decline. "As expected, this was a difficult quarter in terms of both sales and earnings growth. We faced numerous challenges, including continued pressure from foreign tourist spending in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, particularly in Hong Kong," said Chief Executive Frederic Cumenal. The stock has tumbled 16% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.6%.