CHICAGO — Sears Holdings Corp. stumbled to its worst performance yet under Edward Lampert, earning just $2 million in a dismal third quarter that heightened questions about his strategy and Sears’ future as a retailer, prompting a huge sell-off in its stock Thursday.
Sears blamed its 99 percent profit decline on stiff competition and economic factors that weakened margins and sales at its Sears and Kmart department stores. The company signaled little hope for improvement in the near future, either, in a challenging retail environment.
Shares tumbled $12.25, or 10.5 percent, to close at $104.09 Thursday, after earlier hitting an annual low of $98.25 — down nearly half from their peak of $195.18 in April.
The Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company, which earlier this week said it may buy out the rest of retro-themed retailer Restoration Hardware Inc., narrowly avoided its first loss with net income of a penny a share. That was down from a profit of $196 million, or $1.27 per share, a year ago.
Dave Carpenter, The Associated Press
