Kohl's Reports Financial Results for First Quarter 2025

June 3, 2025  by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Industry   

Net sales decreased 4.1% and comparable sales decreased 3.9%
Gross margin increased 37 basis points
Diluted loss per share of ($0.13)
Affirms full year 2025 financial outlook

Michael Bender, Kohl’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, said, “I am honored to assume the role of Interim CEO at such an important time for our company. Kohl’s has a tremendous opportunity to build on our strong foundation of over 1,100 conveniently located stores and a large and loyal customer base.”

“Our first quarter performance was ahead of our expectations and the actions we are taking are starting to make progress with early signs of a positive impact. Our team is focused and motivated to deliver great products, great value, and a great shopping experience to our customers. I want to thank our amazing team of associates for their hard work and dedication. I am excited to lead this next chapter of Kohl’s and build on the momentum we have begun to generate,” Bender continued.

First Quarter 2025 Results

Comparisons refer to the 13-week period ended May 3, 2025, versus the 13-week period ended May 4, 2024

Net sales decreased 4.1% year-over-year, to $3 billion, with comparable sales down 3.9%.
Gross margin as a percentage of net sales was 39.9%, an increase of 37 basis points.
Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses decreased 5.2% year-over-year, to $1.2 billion. As a percentage of total revenue, SG&A expenses were 36.0%, a decrease of 32 basis points year-over-year.
Operating income was $60 million compared to $43 million in the prior year. As a percentage of total revenue, operating income was 1.9%, an increase of 58 basis points year-over-year.
Net loss was $15 million, or ($0.13) per diluted share. This compares to net loss of $27 million, or ($0.24) per diluted share in the prior year.
Inventory was $3.1 billion, an increase of 2% year-over-year.
Operating cash flow was a use of $92 million.

2025 Financial and Capital Allocation Outlook

For the full year 2025, the Company continues to expect the following, excluding the impact of potential items not representative of our core operating performance:

Net sales: A decrease of (5%) to a decrease of (7%)
Comparable sales: A decrease of (4%) to a decrease of (6%)
Operating margin: In the range of 2.2% to 2.6%
Diluted EPS: In the range of $0.10 to $0.60
Capital Expenditures: In the range of $400 million to $425 million
Dividend: On May 14, 2025, Kohl’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on the Company’s common stock of $0.125 per share. The dividend is payable June 25, 2025, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 11, 2025.

First Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call

Kohl’s will host its quarterly earnings conference call at 9:00 am ET on May 29, 2025. A webcast of the conference call and the related presentation materials will be available via the Company's web site at investors.kohls.com, both live and after the call.