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CNBC’s Jim Cramer ripped into Kohl’s on Tuesday after the department store chain reported disappointing earnings and warned on forward guidance.
“This is awful,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street,” as shares of Kohl’s tumbled more than 18%, on pace for their worst single trading day since January 2017.
Earlier Tuesday, Kohl’s reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that fell below Wall Street expectations and cut its full-year profit outlook.
While Kohl’s did not blame specific issues, CEO Michelle Gass said in a statement that the company is “investing in the short-term” in order to “drive profitable growth over the long-term.”
Cramer said Gass should have taken a different approach. “Why not just a total ‘fess up?” the “Mad Money” host asked. “Listen, we’re spending a lot of money. So far, the results aren’t there. The results will be there.”
In order to boost profitability, Kohl’s has been launching its own brands and working with celebrity partners.
The company also started accepting Amazon returns at some of its stores about two years ago, an option that became available earlier this year at all of the more than 1,000 Kohl’s locations in the U.S.
“We have got to hear something about the customer who walks into the back of the store, deposits the Amazon return and then buys something, which is what everybody was excited about,” Cramer said Tuesday.
“In the end, when you dress yourself up as a partner of Amazon, you better show results now,” Cramer added. “They haven’t.” Kohl’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Cramer’s remarks.
Kohl’s shares, as of Monday’s market close, had already fallen roughly 12% this year. The retailer, before Tuesday’s plunge, had a stock market value of about $9.3 billion.
— CNBC’s Lauren Thomas contributed to this report.
