Trading in Gap (GAP) shares was halted on Thursday after the company posted and then retracted its earnings release on its website around 9:30 a.m. ET.

The company did not immediately respond for comment. It was scheduled to release its results after the market closes on Thursday.

Gap is expected to post its second consecutive quarter of sales growth as it tries to revitalize its brands. Second-quarter sales are expected to be $3.63 billion, up 2% from a year ago, and earnings per share will be $0.40, up $0.06 from a year ago. Store sales are expected to rise nearly 3%.

The retailer’s share price is up over 6% year-to-date. In comparison, rival Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) is up over 55% year-to-date.

Old Navy and its namesake brand Gap are expected to drive growth, while Banana Republic’s sales are expected to stagnate. Premium lifestyle brand Athleta is expected to see declining sales.

CEO Richard Dickson is working on a turnaround for the traditional retailer. As part of this, the company changed its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange last week.

It is now called “GAP” (GAP) and is no longer a reference to the navigation system “GPS” (GPS), as Brian Sozzi reported.

“We spent a lot of time advancing our strategic priorities and restoring financial and operational discipline. That allowed us to revitalize these brands to the point where we could reinvigorate them and be part of the cultural dialogue,” Dickson, former COO of toy maker Mattel, told Yahoo Finance.

“Great product, great price, great storytelling, great shopping experiences. These are all fundamental things that we work really hard to improve.”

Many analysts are trying to figure out whether Gap can continue to succeed in an environment where consumers are under pressure.

There is “ongoing pressure on middle-income consumers,” Bernstein analyst Aneesha Sherman told Yahoo Finance.

“It’s the consumers in the middle who keep getting hit by a combination of inflation, student loan repayments, credit card debt, the complete annihilation of pandemic savings and no improvement in overall sentiment. These consumers are now looking for value… and are more selective.”

Read more: 5 clever ways to save money when going back to school

“We are all operating against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty,” Dickson told Yahoo Finance, adding that while Gap remains cautious about consumer sentiment, “there are winners in every area.”

The story continues

Alex Straton, an analyst at Morgan Stanley and a competitor for the stock, expects earnings potential in the second half of the year due to “increasing confidence” in Dickson’s strategy and the execution of the turnaround.

CFRA analyst Zachary Warring is not quite as optimistic and reiterated his sell recommendation in a recent note, reflecting the “extremely competitive specialty apparel retail market” that is primarily focused on young people, he wrote.

He said “high economic sensitivity” and the decline in foot traffic in shopping centers could also impact the retailer.

Year-to-date, Gap shares have risen nearly 11%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) has gained 17%.

The result breakdown

Compared to the second quarter of last year, Wall Street expects the following numbers from Gap:

• Adjusted earnings per share: $0.40 compared to $0.34

• Revenue: $3.63 billion compared to $3.55 billion

• Sales growth in comparable stores: 2.87% compared to -6%

  • Old Navy: 4.76% compared to -1%

  • Gap: 4.09% compared to -1%

  • Banana Republic: 0.09% compared to -8%

  • Athleta: -4.03% compared to -7%

In the first quarter, the company said it expects to end 2024 with slight revenue growth on a 52-week basis.

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Brooke DiPalma is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @Subscribe or email her at [email protected].

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