So far this year, a lot of people have been keeping an eye on any stock that stems from the cannabis industry, while others are eyeballing the stocks of companies who have announced a move into the blockchain industry, because, let’s face it, these industries have constantly been making headlines. As for myself, I have been watching the stock of GNC Holdings (NYSE:GNC).
Why? Well, for starters, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, GNC Holdings, a Pittsburgh-based company, lost 66.6% of their value last year. Further, I reported on December 21 that GNC Holdings announced that it was preparing for bankruptcy, which then caused the stock to drop more than 20%.
This is where my interest in the company first began. GNC Holdings announced in December that its debt load was at $1.4 billion and that its operations have plunged to around $200 million. This might not seem like a reason for concern, but as I mentioned in the initial report, this means GNC Holdings has witnessed a $200M plunge in operations in a timeframe of just two years.
Further, the company announced that it expects to see a drop in sales in its earnings reports, suggesting a negative year over year growth. However, today’s news seems to reject that motion.
What Happened Today?
Last January, GNC Holdings started the year off poorly. It started with one Goldman Sachs analyst stating that he has changed his rating on the GNC stock from ‘neutral’ to ‘sell’. However, this January seems to be a little different; the company appears to be starting 2018 off right.
On Thursday, January 18, GNC Holding – who is a leading retailer that focuses primarily on specialty health, wellness and performance – posted its Q4 earnings report for 2017 – and it surpassed the market as well as the company’s own expectations.
To no surprise, the GNC stock started to soar after the company posted the earnings report. As of this writing, GNC Holdings is trading at $5.08, which puts the stock up $1.62, or 46.61%, making it one of the trending tickers of the trading day thus far.
According to CEO Ken Martindale, GNC saw its “efforts to reposition the business” gain significant momentum in Q4 of 2017. As for the numbers, the company reported that same-store sales for domestic company-owned stores increased in the fourth quarter (5.7%).
GNC Holdings also reported that its adjusted diluted EPS is forecasted to come in between the range of $0.24 to $0.25.
Mr. Martindale stated that the company plans to focus on key initiatives in 2018.
Personally, I was excited by today’s announcement as I thought for sure GNC Holdings was coming to the end of its life unless it managed to get its debt load number lowered. I was also expecting a very disappointing earnings report to be posted this year. Turns out, I was pretty far off from the truth, and I’m sure a lot of other people were too.
What did you think?
Featured Image: Twitter
