What Happened?
Shares of pet-focused retailer Petco (NASDAQ: WOOF) fell 3.8% in the afternoon session after the company announced plans to close 25 underperforming stores nationwide as part of an effort to revive earnings.
The decision follows Petco's second-quarter earnings report, which revealed a decline in year-over-year revenue. While the company stated the closures are intended to "trim the fat" from its portfolio of over 1,300 U.S. locations, the news signals operational challenges. Compounding these issues, Petco is also facing class-action lawsuits, which has likely increased investor uncertainty. The combination of store closures due to poor performance and ongoing legal battles is weighing on investor confidence in the company's outlook.
The shares closed the day at $3.46, down 6% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Petco’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 63 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 3 days ago when the stock dropped 3% on the news that a significant downward revision of U.S. job creation data raised concerns about the health of the economy.
The Labor Department reported that employers added 911,000 fewer jobs from April 2024 through March 2025 than initially estimated. This revision brings the average monthly job gains during that period down significantly, suggesting a cooler labor market. The downgrades were widespread across various service sectors. The largest revisions were seen in leisure and hospitality, which added 176,000 fewer jobs than first reported, followed by professional and business services and retail. Such data is closely watched by investors and economists as it can influence the Federal Reserve's decisions on interest rates.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon added that the U.S. economy is "weakening," though he stopped short of predicting a recession. "Whether it's on the way to recession or just weakening, I don't know," he said. Dimon's remarks are closely watched, given his influence as head of one of the nation's largest banks.
Petco is down 15.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $3.46 per share, it is trading 40% below its 52-week high of $5.77 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Petco’s shares at the IPO in January 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $117.69.
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