Kohl’s, Dell and BEA Systems warned by customers’ economy

Shares of Kohl's Corp. may trade actively Friday, after the discount department store chain reported a 15 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit on softening consumer spending.

Photo: Kohl’s, Dell and BEA Systems warned by customers’ economy

Sales during the quarter rose just under 1 percent, while same-store sales fell 4 percent. The latter is a measurement of sales at stores open at least a year, and an important indicator for the retail industry.

Meanwhile, Dell Inc., after Thursday's closing bell, stated a 6 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit. Dell also warned that higher costs and cautious spending among consumers may hurt its business.

And software company BEA Systems Inc. swung to a fourth-quarter profit as license fees and service revenue rose. Specifically, license fees rose 6 percent to $179.5 million, and service revenue grew 17 percent to $261.4 million.

Kohl's Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The Company currently operates 929 stores in 47 states. Kohl's mission, as stated in store and online, is to be the leading value-oriented, family-focused, specialty department store. Based on 2005 revenue, Kohl's is the 23rd-largest retailer in the United States.

Dell Inc., an American technology-company based in Round Rock, Texas, develops, manufactures, sells and supports personal computers, servers, data-storage devices, network-switches, personal digital assistants, software, televisions, computer-peripherals and other technology-related products.

BEA Systems Inc. is one of the major companies developing enterprise infrastructure software. BEA makes middleware, products that help software run on top of databases. Founded in 1995, BEA has specialized in the enterprise infrastructure software market throughout its 12 year history, and currently has 78 offices in 37 countries. BEA is headquartered in San Jose, California. On January 16, 2008, Oracle Corporation announced it was purchasing BEA Systems.