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what it is
Caleres sells shoes through Famous Footwear stores, its own websites, and a wholesale network that reaches thousands of retailers.
how it gets paid
Last year Caleres made -$14M in revenue.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 27.8% last year. The number that mattered was the $0.18 EPS shortfall versus the $0.85 forecast.
what just happened
Caleres posted $0.67 in EPS on $790 million of revenue, missing the $0.85 forecast even as sales rose 6.6%.
At a glance
C+ balance sheet — struggling to keep the lights on
15/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
21.1x trailing p/e — priced about right
3.0% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
17.9% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 30/100 — weak
What they do
Caleres sells shoes through Famous Footwear stores, its own websites, and a wholesale network that reaches thousands of retailers.
You win here by already being where families buy shoes. Caleres sells through Famous Footwear and reaches about 3,600 retailers across the U.S., Canada, and roughly 65 other countries. Distribution moat → lots of shelf space and customer traffic → so what: your brands stay visible even when consumers trade down.
How they make money
-$14M
annual revenue · revenue declined -27.8% last year
total revenue
-$14M
27.8%
The products that matter
retail shoe stores and e-commerce
Famous Footwear
$1.6B · 59% of revenue
it produced $1.6B of revenue and fell 2.2% last quarter, with comparable sales down 1.2%. if this segment does not stabilize, the rest of the story does not matter much.
traffic problem
wholesale and licensed footwear
Brand Portfolio
$1.1B · +6.6% growth
it is a $1.1B segment that grew 6.6% and includes Sam Edelman, Naturalizer, and Stuart Weitzman. this is the part of the business still carrying some momentum.
doing the lifting
Key numbers
17.9%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on each dollar invested → so what: this business still throws off solid returns when operations behave.
$480M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over years → so what: debt is larger than the company's roughly $315 million market value.
3.0%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → cash paid to shareholders each year → so what: you are getting paid while waiting, but only if profits hold up.
14.5%
earnings growth
Past earnings growth → how fast profit grew over time → so what: the historical record is decent, but the latest year says that streak is under pressure.
Financial health
C+
strength
- balance sheet grade C+ — weak — may struggle to fund operations
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 20 / 100
- long-term debt $480M (60% of capital)
C+ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for CAL right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
Caleres posted $0.67 in EPS on $790 million of revenue, missing the $0.85 forecast even as sales rose 6.6%.
The quiet part out loud: higher sales did not turn into enough profit. Revenue was up 6.6%, but EPS still came in $0.18 below the estimate.
$790M
revenue
$0.67
eps
6.6%
revenue growth
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was the $0.18 EPS shortfall versus the $0.85 forecast, because it shows margin pressure is eating the sales lift.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is Famous Footwear staying soft while Carr v. BG Retail keeps legal cost alive.
med
retail traffic does not recover
Famous Footwear generated $1.6B of revenue and fell 2.2%, with comparable sales down 1.2%.
That is the core engine of the company. If it keeps slipping, Brand Portfolio growth will not be enough to hide it.
med
margin misses keep compounding
Operating margin was 7.1% for FY23, below the company's 7.3% target.
Every 10 basis points of miss on roughly $2.7B in revenue is about $2.7M of operating profit gone. Small misses add up fast in a thin-margin business.
med
legal cost lands on a weak balance sheet
The motion to dismiss in Carr v. BG Retail, LLC & Caleres, Inc. was denied on Sept 24, 2025.
The liability is unquantified in this snapshot. What you can say now is simpler: defense costs and distraction are bad fits for a company already carrying $480M of long-term debt.
Every 10 basis points of margin pressure on roughly $2.7B of revenue is about $2.7M of profit gone, before you count legal cost. That is why this stock feels fragile.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
operating margin vs 7.3% target
Management missed its own 7.3% operating margin target with a 7.1% result. If that gap stays open, the valuation case stays thin.
trend
Famous Footwear comparable sales
Comparable sales were down 1.2%. You want to see the decline stop before you start paying up for a recovery.
calendar
Q4 2026 earnings report
Scheduled for March 19, 2026. This is the next clean read on margin repair, retail traffic, and whether Brand Portfolio is still doing the heavy lifting.
risk
lawsuit developments
The case is still alive after the denied motion to dismiss. Any update matters because the balance sheet is C+, not bulletproof.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
15 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not trust the quarterly earnings path to stay smooth.
risk rank
4
that places CAL safer than only 20% of stocks. You are not buying this for stability.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for CAL is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$13
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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