Caleres Shares Up After Q2 Earnings Beat Led by Brand Portfolio

Caleres Shares Up After Q2 Earnings Beat Led by Brand Portfolio

Wed, September 9, 2026 at 3:23 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• CAL -2.22%

Shares of Caleres ticked up over 6 percent in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the company beat its earnings guidance in the second quarter.

The St. Louis-based footwear company reported net sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 totaled $695.5 million, up 5.6 percent from $658.5 million the same time last year. Net sales in the period excluding Stuart Weitzman, the company's newest brand, were $653.0 million.

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Adjusted net earnings in Q2, excluding tariff refunds, were $16.1 million, or 47 cents per diluted share, compared to last year's adjusted net earnings of $11.7 million, or 35 cents per diluted share.

These results were largely in-line with analyst expectations, which called for net sales in Q2 between $692.9 million and $708.8 million, with net earnings of 37 cents per share, according to Yahoo Finance. Plus, Caleres beat its own earnings guidance in the quarter, which called for earnings per share of between 32 cents to 38 cents in the period.

By segment, Famous Footwear saw net sales decrease 6.3 percent versus the year-ago period, with comparable sales down 5.9 percent. Caleres' brand portfolio division reported a net sales increase of 23.6 percent in the period. (Excluding Stuart Weitzman, net sales in the brand portfolio dipped 0.8 percent.)

Jay Schmidt, president and chief executive officer of Caleres, acknowledged in a statement that results at Famous Footwear were below expectations, as a later back-to-school season and softness in lifestyle athletic pressured sales and margins. Quarter to date through Labor Day, Famous Footwear comparable store sales are flat, the CEO noted.

"Despite the shift in back-to-school, Caleres delivered strong profit improvement and earnings ahead of our guidance," Schmidt added. "Fashion footwear is clearly seeing breakout momentum — and Caleres' brands are resonating with consumers. He said that the company's brand portfolio experienced broad-based gains across brands, channels, and geographies.

As for Famous Footwear, Schmidt said that the company is "pivoting quickly" to align the retailer's assortment with changing consumer demand, emphasizing fashion, which continues to "meaningfully outperform" lifestyle athletic products quarter to date.

Looking ahead, Caleres expects third quarter consolidated net sales to increase low single digits versus last year. Brand portfolio sales are anticipated to increase in the mid-high-single digit percent range, while Famous Footwear sales and comparable sales are expected to be down low-single digits. Earnings per share in the third quarter are expected to be between 62 cents and 70 cents.

As for the full year 2026, the company reiterated its forecast for total sales to increase low-to-mid-single digits but adjusted its earnings per share for the year to be between $1.50 and $1.65. Its previous yearly guidance issued is June called for earnings per share between $1.44 and $1.69.

"We're operating in an environment that remains dynamic, but our focus is clear," Schmidt added. "We will capitalize on the strength in our brand portfolio, improve performance at Famous Footwear, and continue rebuilding earnings power."

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