Shares of footwear company Caleres (NYSE:CAL)
fell 12% in the morning session after the company reported disappointing second-quarter 2025 results and missed Wall Street's profit estimates.
As we await the opening of the US market on Thursday, let's delve into the pre-market session and discover the top gainers and losers shaping the early market sentiment.
Footwear company Caleres (NYSE:CAL) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2025, but sales fell by 3.6% year on year to $658.5 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.35 per share was 37.5% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
Consumer discretionary businesses are levered to the highs and lows of economic cycles. Over the past six months, it seems like demand trends may be working against their favor as the industry’s returns were flat while the S&P 500 was up 6.4%.
Shares of footwear company Caleres (NYSE:CAL)
jumped 3.3% in the morning session after the company announced an expanded partnership with Cash App's Afterpay service.
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed inflation holding steady, bolstering investor optimism for a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The data, which revealed that inflation remained at 2.7% for the year ending in July, was seen as a positive sign by investors. This stability increases the likelihood that the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates at its upcoming September meeting. Lower interest rates can stimulate the economy by making borrowing cheaper for both consumers and businesses, which often translates into higher consumer spending. This is particularly beneficial for the Consumer Discretionary sector, which includes companies selling non-essential goods and services like apparel, travel, and electronics.
Small-cap stocks can be incredibly lucrative investments because their lack of analyst coverage leads to frequent mispricings.
However, these businesses (and their stock prices) often stay small because their subscale operations make it harder to expand their competitive moats.
Shares of footwear company Caleres (NYSE:CAL)
jumped 4.3% in the afternoon session after it completed its acquisition of the luxury footwear brand Stuart Weitzman. The company finalized the deal to buy the luxury footwear brand from Tapestry, Inc. for a net purchase price of $108.7 million. This strategic move strengthened Caleres' position in the global footwear market. According to company leadership, this addition meant the Brand Portfolio segment would represent nearly half of Caleres' total revenue. The stock's climb also happened amid a wider rally for consumer stocks, which moved up on investor hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut following weaker-than-expected jobs data.
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the latest U.S. consumer confidence report revealed underlying weakness despite a headline increase, raising concerns about future spending.
Not all profitable companies are built to last - some rely on outdated models or unsustainable advantages.
Just because a business is in the green today doesn’t mean it will thrive tomorrow.
The low valuation multiples for value stocks provide a margin of safety that growth stocks rarely offer.
However, the challenge lies in determining whether these cheap assets are genuinely undervalued or simply on sale due to their potentially deteriorating business models.
Looking back on footwear stocks’ Q1 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Wolverine Worldwide (NYSE:WWW) and its peers.
Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Skechers (NYSE:SKX) and the best and worst performers in the footwear industry.
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the major indices pulled back (Nasdaq -1.3%, S&P 500 -1.1%) as Israel carried out significant strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites. This development sent crude oil prices surging, as investors fear potential disruptions to global oil supply and a wider regional conflict.
Investors looking for hidden gems should keep an eye on small-cap stocks because they’re frequently overlooked by Wall Street.
Many opportunities exist in this part of the market, but it is also a high-risk, high-reward environment due to the lack of reliable analyst price targets.
