Earnings Per Share and Adjusted Net Income Improvement
Adjusted net income of $125M in Q4 and $186M for 2025; adjusted diluted EPS of $1.07 in Q4 and $1.62 for the full year, with management noting EPS 'well ahead of last year' despite weaker top-line results.
Stronger Liquidity and Deleveraging
Cash and cash equivalents of $674M at year-end, up $540M year-over-year; operating cash flow of $750M in Q4 and $1.4B for the year (a $700M increase vs. 2024); fully exited the revolver (no borrowings) and repurchased $87M of long-term debt at a discount; interest expense down $15M in Q4 and $31M for the year.
Gross Margin Expansion and Inventory Discipline
Gross margin expanded by 25 basis points in Q4 to 33.1% and by 34 basis points for the full year to 37.5%, driven by disciplined inventory management and lower clearance markdowns; inventory reduced roughly 7% year-over-year, positioning fresher spring receipts.
SG&A and Cost Reductions
SG&A decreased $76M (4.9%) in Q4 and 4.1% for the year (ex-shift: Q4 down 4.1%, full year down 2.8%), driven by lower store, marketing, and fulfillment costs; depreciation declined (Q4 depreciation $174M, down $9M).
Progress on Omnichannel and Digital Capabilities
Digital sales grew low-single-digits in Q4 and were flat for the year; digital penetration increased ~220 basis points to 35% of total sales in Q4; management highlighted improvements in store-enabled fulfillment (BOPIS/BOSS/ship-from-store) and digital modernization efforts (site structure, personalization, AI-ready data architecture).
Momentum in Proprietary Brands and Specific Categories
Proprietary brands showed pockets of strength: juniors +8% and petites +26% in Q4; proprietary apparel flat (overall proprietary brands down 3%); men's and kids proprietary books ran positive comps; Impulse expansion drove over a 40% comparable sales increase versus last year in areas where rolled out; Sephora at Kohl's grew 2% with comps improving to flat in Q4 and MAC launched in ~850 Sephora locations.
Concrete Operational Plans and Early Execution Wins
Management implemented inventory and allocation changes that produced a 'substantially smoother' spring receipt transition; plans to increase inventory depth (high-single-digit target), curate choice counts, expand proprietary brand marketing ('By Kohl's'), roll out $10-and-under impulse assortments (Deal Bar, toy tower) and further omnichannel improvements in 2026.