TJX TJX Companies Inc

By Allison Prang and Patrick Thomas 

Retailers gave a mixed read on consumer spending heading into the key holiday season, with department store chain Kohl's Corp. and Home Depot Inc. reporting weak sales, but discounter TJX Cos. continuing to log strong sales.

Kohl's said comparable sales increased 0.4% from a year ago in the quarter ended Nov. 2, after several quarters of declines but less than Wall Street expected. Executives said the chain was entering the holiday period with momentum, but lowered their profit forecasts for the rest of the year.

"The quarter started off positive in August with another successful back-to-school season and ended strong in October," said Kohl's Chief Executive Michelle Gass.

TJX, parent of the TJ Maxx and HomeGoods chains, reported a 4% jump in comparable sales in the quarter ended Nov. 2 and raised its profit forecasts for the rest of the year. Executives cited strong traffic to its stores and an abundance of merchandise that the off-price chain can buy to fill its stores.

"We are seeing fantastic, widespread availability of quality, branded merchandise and are in a great position to capitalize on these opportunities," CEO Ernie Herrman said.

Meanwhile, Home Depot lowered its sales forecast for the year Tuesday after third-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations. Same-store sales were up 3.6% for the period ended Nov. 3, below the 4.7% analysts were expecting.

Shares of Home Depot, which have rallied about 40% this year, were off 4.9% in morning trading. Kohl's fell 17%, while TJX gained 2.4%.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com and Patrick Thomas at Patrick.Thomas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 19, 2019 10:25 ET (15:25 GMT)

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