Kohl's (KSS) Stock Rises On CEO Shakeup, Preliminary Q1 Outlook

Kohl’s Corp (NYSE:KSS) shares climbed 7.09% to $7.71 on Thursday after the company announced the termination of CEO Ashley Buchanan for cause and appointed Board Chair Michael Bender as Interim CEO.

What To Know: The board, following an investigation overseen by its Audit Committee, concluded Buchanan violated company policies by engaging in vendor deals involving undisclosed conflicts of interest. The termination is not tied to company performance or financial reporting.

Bender, a board member since 2019 and former CEO of Eyemart Express, brings over 30 years of leadership experience at firms including Walmart, L Brands, and PepsiCo. He will remain on the board but step down from committee roles and his position as Chair. The board plans to initiate a search for a permanent CEO.

Separately, Kohl's issued preliminary first-quarter 2025 results, expecting comparable sales to decline between 4.3% and 4.0%, operating income between $40 million and $45 million, and diluted EPS of a loss of 20 cents to a loss of 24 cents.

Full results will be released on May 29. Despite soft guidance, the leadership change and Bender's appointment were met with investor optimism.

Read Also: Microsoft Rallies After Crushing Q3 Earnings, Goldman Sachs Lifts Target To $480

How To Buy KSS Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Kohl’s – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

In the case of Kohl’s, which is trading at $6.96 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 14.37 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, KSS has a 52-week high of $28.25 and a 52-week low of $6.04.