Shares of Lumber Liquidators fell more than 26 percent Wednesday after the company reported a big earnings miss and hinted at more negative news in the future.
During the firm's earnings conference call, management warned investors that an upcoming "60 Minutes" episode will be negative for the company.
"We now believe the news program '60 Minutes' will feature our company in an unfavorable light with regard to our sourcing and product quality, specifically relating to laminates," Rob Lynch, the company's president and CEO said on the call.
Lumber Liquidators missed on both the top and bottom lines, reporting earnings per share of 64 cents on revenue of $272 million. Wall Street had expected earnings of about 76 cents per share on $280 million in revenue.
The company also reported that same-store sales were down 4.2 percent in the quarter.
Additionally, Lumber Liquidators disclosed in its 10K U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that "in recent communications, the DOJ indicated that it is contemplating seeking criminal charges under the Lacey Act."
The Lacey Act is a U.S. conservation law that prohibits the trading in wildlife or plants that were illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold. Lumber Liquidators said that the DOJ investigation pertained to the importation of certain of the company's wood flooring products.
Lumber Liquidators said that, at this time, it "does not have enough information to estimate a reasonably possible loss or range of loss that may result from actions by the DOJ as a result of its investigation."