J.C. Penney Stock Surges as Turnaround Plan Shows Results<br />J. C. Penney surprised Wall Street on Friday, but not in the way investors had come to expect: The beleaguered department store chain reported an increase in a key measure of sales<br />that was greater than anticipated, causing its stock to surge.<br />The retailer said comparable sales — those at stores open at least a year — had risen 1.7 percent in the third quarter compared<br />with the same period a year earlier, more than double analysts’ expectations and the company’s own forecast last month.<br />The company reported a net loss of $128 million, or 41 cents a share, nearly doubling from $67 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier.<br />Kohl’s reported an uptick in same-store sales, but its quarterly profits missed expectations, a result<br />it attributed to the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma hitting during the back-to-school season.<br />The upswing was J. C. Penney’s first in that critical metric in a year, an indication<br />that the chain’s strategy of purging excess inventory and closing underperforming stores was paying off.<br />The J. C. Penney results were a departure from recent earnings reports from retailers<br />that have raised concerns heading into the holiday shopping season.
