Like a scrappy boxer that keeps getting up no matter how many punches he takes, Sears on Monday defied critics when it said it would earn its first profit in three years during the second quarter.
Or did it?
The department store's shares fell nearly 8 percent after it issued a second-quarter performance update indicating it would report net income between $155 million and $205 million for the period ended Aug. 1, or $1.46 to $1.92 per diluted share.
How Sears got there, however, signals that the core business in its current state is unsustainable. Although the retailer was able to squeeze out $3 billion in proceeds from clever real estate transactions and the extension of a credit facility, its same-store sales plunged 10.6 percent for the quarter, highlighting just how troubled its Sears and Kmart stores remain.
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"I don't think [Sears' turning a profit is] very significant at all, particularly given the reason that they're actually turning a profit," said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics.
"I don't really think it changes the story longer term at all in terms of the core business."