Steve Madden Investors Focusing On Retail Comps Over Disappointing Guidance; Shares Higher

Shares of

were trading higher by more than 2 percent late Tuesday morning after the company

a mixed earnings guidance and outlook. Steven Madden expects its fourth quarter 2015 revenue to gain 0.5 percent from a year ago to $344.2 million - short of the $360.28 million Wall Street analysts were expecting. Steven Madden also guided its full year fiscal 2015 earnings per share to be in the low end of its prior guidance range of $1.85 to $1.95 per share. Wall Street analysts were expecting Steven Madden to earn $1.89 per share in the full fiscal year. Meanwhile, Steven Madden said its net sales for fiscal 2015 rose 5.3 percent from a year ago to $1.4 billion while retail comparable store sales for the full year rose 11.2 percent. "In light of the challenging retail environment and unfavorable weather in the fourth quarter, we are pleased that earnings results for fiscal 2015 are expected to be within the guidance range, albeit at the low end," Edward Rosenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented. "Fourth quarter diluted EPS is expected to increase more than 25% from the prior year period despite headwinds from a heavily promotional retail environment and a challenging landscape for seasonal products like boots and cold weather accessories."