August 14, 2007

By BLOOMBERG NEWS

The Sears Holdings Corporation, the biggest United States department store company,
said yesterday that it planned to buy back $1.5 billion in stock.
Sears also said second-quarter profit dropped as much as 42 percent, within analysts
reduced forecasts, after it cut prices on seasonal clothing.
The stock gained $7.45, or 5.6 percent, to $140.55.
Sears has already spent $3 billion on stock since 2005. Sales have declined at both the
Sears and Kmart stores since the companys chairman, Edward S. Lampert, combined
them in 2005.
Mr. Lampert has said Sears may buy other companies and may pursue targets
outside the retailing industry.
He hasnt found anything yet that he wants to buy, so why not invest in his own

company? said Scott Rothbort, president of LakeView Asset Management in Millburn,

N.J., which owns Sears shares.
Second-quarter net income was $170 million to $185 million, or $1.13 to $1.23 a share,
for the three months through Aug. 4. In July, Sears forecast $160 million to $200 million
for the period, or $1.06 to $1.32 a share. Analysts had estimated profit of $2.07 a share.
Profit included a gain of $9 million, or 6 cents a share, from bankruptcy-related
settlements, insurance claims and investments, the company said yesterday. For the
second quarter of last year, Sears had net income of $294 million, or $1.88 a share.
Second-quarter sales at stores open at least a year fell 4.3 percent at Sears stores and 3.8
percent at Kmart. Sears said it planned to release more detailed second-quarter results on
or before Aug. 30.