MAJOR RETAILERS SEE STOCK GAINS ON BLACK FRIDAY
Major retailers saw their stocks go up on Black Friday, but more gains are likely to come as sales continue into next week.
Black Friday deals help shoppers check off their holiday wish lists at a fraction of the cost, but these sales also help retailers reach consumers who may be reluctant to buy their items at full price, adding to their revenue just as the holiday shopping season begins.
A Morgan Stanley survey released earlier this month showed a good sign for retailers, finding that 35 percent of roughly 2,000 consumers expect to spend more this season than the year before.
While the full effects of Black Friday shopping on the value of these big retailers are yet to be seen, given that many discounts run until the end of Cyber Monday on December 2, we can get a glimpse of how the companies are doing at the close of the stock market on Friday.
When the market closed early on Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, Apple, Amazon, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Macy's, Kohl's and Nordstrom's stock prices slightly increased.
The National Retail Federation (NRF), the world's largest retail trade association, explained to Newsweek in a statement how the holiday shopping season will benefit big retailers.
"Overall, holiday sales in November and December have averaged about 19% of total retail sales over the last five years, but the figure can be higher for some retailers," the NRF said in an emailed statement on Friday afternoon. "In addition, holiday sales can be more profitable because the increased volume of purchases comes without significantly increasing retailers' fixed costs of doing business."
Apple's stock climbed by 1.02 percent reaching $237.33, while Amazon's increased by 1.05 percent to $207.89. However, Best Buy saw the largest gains out of the bunch, with its stock rising by 2.08 percent to $90.
Target's stock reached $132.31—a 1.71 percent increase from when the market closed on Wednesday. The market was closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving.
Target's stock plummeted 22 percent earlier this month after the retailer reported worse-than-expected earnings. On November 20, Target reported a net income of $854 million ($1.85 per share) in the third quarter. This number fell short of the $2.30 per share that analysts predicted, according to FactSet.
While Target's stock still hasn't fully recovered from that blow, it has been trending upward since November 20.
Target's competitor, Walmart, saw just a 0.67 percent increase, reaching $92.50, on Friday. That being said, Walmart reported better-than-expected third-quarter sales on November 19, with a net income of $4.58 billion (57 cents per share).
Meanwhile, major department stores Macy's, Kohl's and Nordstrom saw gains of 1.75 percent, 1.49 percent and 0.40 percent, respectively. Macy's stock was at $16.24 when the market closed Friday, while Kohl's was at $14.97 and Nordstrom was at $22.71.
Update 11/29/24, 5:37 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the NRF.
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2024-11-29T20:40:13Z
