Strength in the home category helped bolster Kohl’s Corp.’s first-quarter performance, and although the company posted negative comps and a loss, results topped Wall Street expectations while the loss narrowed from the year-earlier period.
The company also noted that it has yet to receive any of the $190 million in IEEPA tariff refunds it is seeking.
Net loss was $14 million, or 13 cents per diluted share, versus a net loss of $15 million, or 13 cents per diluted share, in the year-prior period.
Still, Kohl’s beat a Zacks Investment Research analyst consensus estimate for an 18 cent per diluted share loss and $3.16 billion in revenue.
Comparable sales decreased 1.1% in the quarter year over year, the company reported. Net sales declined 1.7% to $3 billion while total revenue decreased to $3.17 billion from $3.23 billion year over year. Operating income was $46 million versus $60 million in the quarter a year prior.
Regarding outlook, Kohl’s stated that it continues to expect net sales and comparable sales to be flat to down 2%, and adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $1 to $1.60.
In a conference call, Kohl’s CFO Jill Timm said that the guidance does not include any impact from potential IEEPA tariff refunds. In the first quarter, Kohl’s submitted $140 million of claims related to tariffs paid as importer of record. Kohl’s is eligible to receive total tariff refunds of $190 million, she added, but the company hadn’t received any remittance thus far.
CEO Michael Bender said on the conference call that Kohl’s delivered meaningful improvements to the business in the first quarter and is making strides.
“Moving forward, we remain realistic about the important work ahead of us, but the early results in Q1 give us increased confidence in our ability to execute against our key initiatives,” he said.
Bender said home, women’s, kids and accessories posted flat-to-slightly positive comps year over year and added that the home category outperformed during the period, up 400 basis points from the fourth quarter.
“Our customers continue to respond well to newness and innovation in this category from key brands like Shark and Ninja,” he said. “On the soft home and tabletop side, we’re leaning into proprietary brands like Miryana and Mingle & Co. Our home decor category showed a dramatic improvement from the fourth quarter, running up low single digits. This improvement follows the adjustments we made within our seasonal decor businesses, where we had previously overinvested in depth and did not offer customers adequate choices. We’re applying these valuable learnings as we move forward, optimizing our Americana business for the 250th anniversary, as well as our fall, harvest and winter holiday decor collections.”
In announcing the financial results, Bender said, “We are pleased with our start to 2026. Our key initiatives continue to drive progressive improvements to the business, resulting in our best comparable sales performance in over four years. In addition, we continue to manage the business with great discipline, leading to strong expense management, cleaner inventories, and an improved balance sheet. Moving forward, we remain committed to delivering more value and a better experience to our customers.”
