Shares suspended after apparently premature publication

Gap raised its full-year earnings forecast on Thursday after the corporate reported better-than-expected results at its biggest brand, Old Navy.

The clothing company's second-quarter results were released sooner than planned after the corporate “accidentally” posted them on its website after which removed them, a Gap spokesperson told CNBC.

“As soon as the error was discovered, we notified the NYSE and trading in our shares was temporarily suspended,” the spokesman said, adding that the outcomes were released “due to an administrative error.”

Gap's stock price was suspended just before 10:00 a.m. ET. The company then released its quarterly results at 11:12 a.m. ET. Following the discharge, shares rose greater than 2% after being suspended for many of the morning.

Here's what the corporate reported in comparison with Wall Street expectations, based on an analyst survey by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 54 cents in comparison with expected 40 cents
• Revenue: $3.72 billion in comparison with expected $3.63 billion

The company's net income for the three-month period ended Aug. 3 nearly doubled from the identical period a yr ago. Gap reported earnings of $206 million, or 54 cents a share, compared with $117 million, or 32 cents a share, a yr earlier.

Revenue rose to $3.72 billion, up about 5% from $3.55 billion in the identical period last yr.

For the complete yr, Gap now expects gross margin to be two percentage points higher than previously forecast (at the very least 1.5 percentage points). The company also expects operating profit to extend by about 50 percent. Previously, it had expected a rise of just over 40 percent.

Over the past yr, Gap has worked to show its business around, reversing a sales slump and, under the leadership of CEO Richard Dickson – the previous Mattel Manager credited with reviving the Barbie empire.

Since Dickson took the helm, sales at the corporate's 4 brands – Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta and its namesake company – have rebounded and the corporate is finding its voice amongst its peers again. In addition to sales and relevance, Gap's profit and balance sheet have also improved significantly under Dickson. The company ended the quarter with $2.1 billion in money, money equivalents and short-term investments, up 59% yr over yr.

Although the second quarter results didn’t exceed expectations, they represent a big improvement in comparison with the previous yr.

“We've really focused on our strategic priorities, and the top priority has been to maintain financial and operational rigor, which, as far as we can define it, becomes the foundation of how we operate and drives better processes and cultural accountability,” Dickson said in an interview with CNBC.

“The revitalization of our brands is made possible by financial and operational discipline, and you see it. You see it in the results, you see it in our stores. You see it on our websites,” he added.

“We're building stronger brand identities. They're supported by on-trend products,” Dickson said. “We're reinforcing these with better storytelling. Our media mix has become much more innovative and in general I'm proud of the brand's portfolio work in the context of cultural relevance.”

According to StreetAccount, comparable sales rose 3 percent within the quarter, in step with analysts' expectations of three.1 percent growth. According to StreetAccount, the gross margin was higher than forecast at 42.6 percent and above the 40.8 percent expected by analysts.

Here’s a more in-depth have a look at each brand’s performance:

Revenue rose 8% to $2.1 billion, with comparable sales up 5%, higher than the 4.3% growth expected by analysts, based on StreetAccount. The company has worked to enhance its assortment and ensure its offerings are usually not only reasonably priced but additionally fashionable.

“We have upped our fashion quotient, so to speak,” Dickson said. “Alongside a much more disciplined approach with financial and operational rigor, we are now ramping up our efforts and seeing the results of our renewal strategy.”

As consumers feel the brunt of inflation and high rates of interest, many have switched to cheaper alternatives. Dickson says Old Navy is seeing “growth across all income groups.”

“If there's a perceived flight to value, Old Navy is right in the middle of it,” Dickson said. “We're becoming the style authority and the brand in the value space, and so we're refocusing on our strategic approach, our strategic priorities. I think we're seeing the success of that.”

Revenue on the namesake company rose 1% to $766 million within the quarter, with comparable sales up 3%, just under the three.4% increase expected by analysts. As Dickson tries to revive cultural relevance to the corporate, that has helped the namesake company increase sales, he said.

Gap's high-end workwear line has hurt the corporate's overall performance. Both revenue and comparable sales were flat year-over-year within the second quarter, in comparison with StreetAccount's estimate of a 0.5 percent increase. The company said it was working to “improve pricing and assortment” to enhance the brand's performance.

“In some cases we have overreached, and in other cases we could build in a stronger value orientation to achieve greater economies of scale,” Dickson said when asked what the corporate is doing to enhance its pricing.

“Our new merchandising strategies include expanding the variety of products in the store and finding the right mix, so to speak. And last but not least, it's about really improving fit. That's an important aspect of any brand, but particularly in the women's area of ​​Banana Republic, it's a challenge that we're really focused on,” he said.

Sales at Gap's athleisure brand Athleta fell 1% to $388 million, while comparable sales fell 4%. The results weren’t comparable to analyst estimates.

Athleta, one in every of Gap's strongest brands through the pandemic, was in a downward spiral and a significant drag on the corporate's performance until it appointed former Alo Yoga president Chris Blakeslee as CEO last summer. Since then, Blakeslee has worked to enhance Athleta's assortment and create more excitement for the road through recent products and collaborations with athletes.

In a press release, the corporate stated that it expects Athleta to return to positive comparable sales growth for the rest of the yr.