Nordstrom skids 20% after earnings miss

Shares of Nordstrom fell as much as 20 percent on Thursday after the retailer reported earnings that missed Wall Street expectations.

The upscale department store operator delivered earnings of 57 cents per share on $3.33 billion in revenue. Wall Street had expected earnings per share of 72 cents on $3.37 billion in revenue, according to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters.

The company's stock was last down 20 percent in extended trade. Click here for the latest stock quote.

Nordstrom attributed the miss to "softer sales trends that were generally consistent across channels and merchandise categories."

Net sales increased 6.6 percent and comparable sales increased 0.9 percent, compared to the same period last year. Analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had expected same-store sales growth of 3.6 percent.

"The company is executing its customer strategy through multiple growth initiatives to enhance the customer experience and reach more customers," Nordstrom said in a statement.

Nordstrom cut its adjusted profit forecast for the year to $3.30- $3.40 per share from $3.85- $3.95.

The Seattle-based company's shares have fallen 20 percent since the beginning of the year, while the index has fallen nearly 1 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $63.49, a drop of 13 percent in the last 12 months.

— The AP and Reuters contributed to this report.