Home was a standout in the second quarter at Kohl’s, while an overall comparable sales decline could’t prevent adjusted earnings from a significant gain that beat a Wall Street estimate.
On the executive front, Kohl’s announced it named Arianne Parisi chief customer officer, reporting to company CEO Michael Bender.
Net income was $151 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, versus $153 million, or $1.35 per diluted share, in the year-before quarter. Adjusted for any one-time charges, adjusted net income was $151 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, versus $64 million, or 56 cents per diluted share, in the period a year previous.
An analyst consensus estimate published by Zacks Investment Research pegged earnings per adjusted diluted share at 55 cents and revenues at $3.52 billion.
Comparable sales decreased 0.9% in the quarter year over year, according to Kohl’s. Net sales were $3.32 billion versus $3.35 billion in the year-earlier period while total revenues were $3.52 billion versus $3.55 billion. Operating income was $261 million versus $279 million in the year-prior quarter, while adjusted operating income was $261 million versus $161 million, the company reported.
Kohl’s raised its full-year financial guidance, a change that reflects, in part, IEFFPA tariff tax refunds recorded in the second quarter. Now, Kohl’s expects net and comparable sales to come in flat to down 1.5% with adjusted diluted earnings per share to fall in the range of $1.80 to $2.40. Its previous outlook had net sales and comparable sales at flat to down 2%, and adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $1 to $1.60.
In a conference call, Bender (pictured above), said, as the company works towards a more balanced assortment across categories, home was notable in the second quarter. Decor, especially Americana items popular for celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States in July, was strong, and so was the small electrics segment, he said.
“Home had the strongest performance this quarter, delivering sales growth of 1%,” Bendor said. “The strength in home was driven by decor and small electrics. Home decor benefited from our adjustments in merchandising efforts to deliver more choices in this category.
“Small electrics continue to benefit from newness and innovation in national brands such as Shark and Ninja,” Bender added. “We also saw strong performances from KitchenAid and GreenPan. We anticipate further opportunity in this category in the back half of the year, as we have strong receipt flow this year after being limited in our buys last year due to tariff pressures.”
Proprietary labels gave Kohl’s a lift in the quarter, with the company posting “solid growth in our Mingle & Co. brand within our tabletop category,” Bender said.
Kohl’s made progress in seasonal goods by initially setting the fall assortment early, he said, getting goods in stores by July as back-to-school was peaking, an aggressive approach it will continue with holiday merchandise.
Bender, in announcing the second-quarter results, said, “We are confident that the work we are executing is leading us in the right direction. Our second-quarter results reflect the ongoing progress against our initiatives, leading to another improvement in our comparable sales trend. While we are encouraged with the momentum we have made thus far, we know there is critical work ahead of us. Importantly, we have made significant strides in building a strong balance sheet through diligent operational focus across the organization. This provides us a critical foundation as we invest in the business, lead with value for our customers and return capital to our shareholders.”.
In the newly created chief customer officer role, Parisi’s responsibilities will cover enhancing the omnichannel customer experience across marketing, brand and creative, loyalty, personalization, media, and digital commerce, including kohls.com and the Kohl’s App. She will focus on strengthening the full customer lifecycle, modernizing the omnichannel experience and aligning Kohl’s brand promise more closely with how customers discover, shop, engage and return. Parisi has been Kohl’s chief digital officer since 2025, and prior to that, she served as global chief digital officer at JD Sports Fashion
