Guess surprises shareholders and analysts alike

Guess was big news Thursday as the Marciano brothers’

brainchild reported adjusted operating earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 down by 65.1 percent to 13.7 million dollars. Comparable-store sales in North America also fell, 9.8 percent.

"While we are encouraged by our start to fiscal 2014, the near term outlook for consumer spending remains soft and we are planning our business accordingly," commented the news Paul Marciano. "Southern Europe continues to be our main concern going forward."

However, the denim label remains optimist on its full year earnings per share (EPS) as they expect them to come at something between 1.70 and 1.90 dollars, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.79 dollars. In the same vein, Guess foresees revenue for the full year to be of 2.57 - 2.61 billion dollars, versus the consensus of 2.60 billion dollars.

Shares at Guess opened Thursday higher than the previous day, boosted by the encouraging forecast.

Meanwhile, Express Inc. saw its shares to surge 13 percent to 21.20 dollars on Thursday, hitting its second biggest one-day gain since it went public in 2010. Express has taken the market by surprise as it has reported flat first-quarter same-store sales, rather than declining ones. Online sales nearly doubled, gaining 48 percent, extending a 28 percent gain a year ago, as stressed Bloomberg. Company gave a respite to investors as well, after posting a 23 percent drop in profits for the first quarter.

Finally, Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. jumped nearly 3 percent to 65.69 dollars Thursday, compared to its high of 66.11 dollars earlier in the day, an all-time trading high. The value of its shares has more than tripled since its initial public offering.