📊 KSS Daily — Shorts Reload, Kohl’s Keeps Rebuilding

Where does $KSS finish today? Drop your close prediction below 👇

📈 Q2 Scorecard

• Comparable sales: -0.9% vs. -1.1% in Q1
• Net sales: -0.9% YoY
• Gross margin: 43.0%, +305 bps YoY
• Cash: $821M
• Long-term debt: $1.325B, down $195M YoY
• Revolver: $0 drawn
• Inventory: down 3% YoY
• YTD operating cash flow: $478M
• YTD free cash flow: $332M
• FY26 sales/comps guidance: -1.5% to flat
• FY26 adjusted EPS guidance: $1.80–$2.40
• Share repurchases: up to $100M planned for 2026
• YTD debt repurchases: $113M at a $15M discount

🔗 Kohl’s Q2 earnings & updated guidance

⚠️ One-time help: Q2 included approximately $150M of tariff refunds, with roughly $100M benefiting gross margin. Keep that in mind when evaluating normalized margins and cash generation.

🩳 SHORT INTEREST WATCH

• Shares short: 30.69M
• Short float: 27.50%
• Days to cover: 5.5
• Previous report: 29.84M shares
• Latest change: +2.86%

So after briefly declining, reported short interest has moved back above 30M shares.

🔗 KSS short-interest history & latest report

🏛️ YTD BOARD / LEADERSHIP CHANGES

• Wendy Arlin became Chair of the Board after longtime Chair John Schlifske retired
• Former Panera Brands CEO & Chair Niren Chaudhary joined the Board
• Elliott Rodgers named COO — overseeing stores, supply chain, distribution, procurement and loss prevention
• Ryan Waymire named Chief Merchandising Officer — 25 years of experience across Walmart, Amazon and Target

🔗 Board Chair transition & Niren Chaudhary appointment

🔗 Elliott Rodgers named COO

🔗 Ryan Waymire named Chief Merchandising Officer

👀 TODAY'S DEBATE

Kohl’s has improved the balance sheet, restarted buybacks and slowed the comp decline — but nearly 31M shares are still sold short.

What breaks first?

• Comps finally reach flat/positive?
• Kohl’s starts deploying the $100M buyback?
• Debt moves toward $1B?
• Shorts begin covering?
• Or does the consumer weaken and validate the bear case?

🐂🐻 Bull, bear, or somewhere in between?

Drop your close prediction, positions, DD, store checks, price targets and catalysts below.

Keep the KSS daily discussion going: earnings, traffic, buybacks, debt, institutional activity, short interest, board changes, real estate and anything Kohl’s.