May Co. disappoints Street; Mercantile beats estimates: both have small sales gains

May Department Stores Co's fiscal second quarter results failed to meet Wall Street analysts' estimates, but Mercantile Stores Co's results easily exceeded analysts' estimates. For the quarter ended Aug 3, 1996, May's earnings from continuing operations increased just 2.8%, reaching $110 million. Mercantile, benefiting from its in-house credit card business, saw its income jump to $14.4 million, more than twice that of the year-earlier quarter.
NEW YORK - Two department store chains, May Department Stores Co. and Mercantile Stores Co., reported contrasting results for the second quarter. May Co. earnings lagged slightly behind Wall Street [...]