Finish Line Earnings & Guidance Lift Dick's & Foot Locker

Shares of Finish Line (NASDAQ:FINL) surged nearly 12% on Thursday morning after the company reported both top and bottom line third quarter beats. Finish Line’s better-than-expected Q3 also helped lift shares of fellow sports retailers, with Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) and Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) stock both climbing in morning trading.

The athletic footwear-focused retailer beat Wall Street expectations for earnings, revenue, and same-store sales. Indianapolis-based Finish Line saw its Q3 revenues jump 1.8% year-over-year, driven in part by a 0.8% increase in comps. Finish Line’s partnership with Macy’s (NYSE:M) also proved to be somewhat successful, as sales in that category rose by 2.3%.

Still, Finish Line reported an adjusted quarterly loss of $12.9 million, or $0.26 per share (also read: Finish Line (FINL) Posts Narrower-Than-Expected Loss in Q3).

“Looking ahead, we continue to be cautious in the near-term, but I am confident that the work we are doing to position the company for long-term growth and enhanced profitability is gaining traction,” CEO Sam Sato said in a statement.

Finish Line now expects to post a 2% to 3% decline in comparable sales for its full fiscal year. The retailer also projects to report a drop in fourth-quarter comparable store sales in the 3% to 5% range.

However, based on the company’s solid third-quarter, it upped its adjusted full-year earnings per share range to between $0.59 and $0.67. The retailer’s previous guidance range was $0.50 per share to $0.60 per share.

This new positive guidance helped lift shares of Finish Line to their highest point since August, touching $13.41 per share in morning trading. Before today’s gains, shares of Finish Line had fallen nearly 38% in 2017.

Shares of fellow sports retailers climbed after Finish Line posted a stronger than anticipated Q3 and raised its full-year guidance.

Dick's Sporting Goods saw its stock price pop around 1.90%, while shares of Foot Locker surged nearly 3%. Shares of lesser-known sports retailer Hibbett Sports (NASDAQ:HIBB) rose over 1.25%.

Shares of sports footwear and apparel powers Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) , Adidas (DE:ADSGN) AG (OTC:ADDYY) and Nike (NYSE:NKE) remained little changed on Thursday. Nike is set to report its latest results after the closing bell today.

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