Sears Holdings (SHLD):
 Quick trip down memory lane: I used to play on a Commodore 64 (remember that dinosaur?) for hours in Sears when I was a kid. My mother had to drag me out of there, kicking and screaming.

The chain released its first-quarter numbers.

Excluding items, it earned $0.38 - way better than the $0.88 loss the Street was expecting. 

I think a lot of eyes are gonna be scoping out the situation after the open, and the shares could get a nice goose.

But I’m lukewarm on these guys. I really believe Lampert has to wow the stocks off analysts and retail investors a few more quarters before the masses start to warm to this story again. Also, take a look at the estimates out there at present. I wouldn’t quite call this an earnings play just yet.

I’m not betting against Lampert, but I’m not going to belly up right now, either.

Pacific Sunwear (PSUN):
Rounding out the potpourri of retail results, let’s take a look at California-based Pacific Sunwear’s first quarter, shall we?

The good news: It lost $0.13, whereas the Street had been looking for a loss of $0.29.

But there's no reason to party like it's 1999.

The issues as I see them:

1. Its same-store sales were off 18%. That’s not unheard of these days, but it's no small potatoes, either.

2. The stock is under $5, which can be a big obstacle to institutional investment.

3. It’s looking for a loss of $0.11 to $0.17 a share in the second quarter. The Street is looking for a loss of a dime.

4. It’s expected to lose money this year and next.

5. If I wanted to play in the retail sandbox, there are so many  better choices.

If you can’t tell already, I’m steering clear of this one. But in fairness, insiders did drop some fairly heavy coin on the stock toward the beginning of the year, so maybe I’m the fool. (Hold the emails!)

Have a great day and a super weekend!