NEW YORK — Wal-Mart officials sounded an upbeat tone for the holidays as the retailer posted a 10 percent increase in third-quarter profits Thursday, saying shoppers are responding to its early Christmas promotions.
But the retailer trimmed its profit outlook for the fiscal year. The retailer said it earned $3.14 billion, or 80 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from $2.86 billion, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier. Sales for the quarter rose 7.4 percent to $98.64 billion.
Kohl’s reported after the markets closed that its third-quarter profit fell 17 percent, and it cut its fourth-quarter and full-year profit outlook. The department-store chain earned $160.2 million, or 52 cents per share, during the three months ended Nov. 1. That was down from the same period last year, when Kohl’s earned $194 million, or 61 cents per share, but higher than analysts expected.
Nordstrom Inc. fared worse, saying its profit fell more than 57 percent, well below what Wall Street predicted. For the three months ended Nov. 1, Nordstrom earned $71 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with a profit of $166 million, or 68 cents per share, in the same period last year.
