Sportswear and footwear retailer Foot Locker released a preview of its second-quarter earnings results on Monday, hinting at better-than-expected figures despite the months of lockdowns and economic disruptions over the three-month period. The company told shareholders that its sales during the quarter were much better than initially anticipated and that it will actually be reporting a profit instead of a loss.

Following the release of the earnings preview, the company's shares jumped by more than 7 percent. The company's stock closed at $27.47 per share on Friday and opened at $30.02 per share on Monday before finishing at $29.63 at the close. The surge, along with a 4 percent rally in Nike's stocks, helped the Dow climb by close to 300 points. Since the start of the year, Foot Locker's share prices have declined by more than 25 percent.

The company's better-than-expected sales during the period were partly attributed to a surge in sneaker sales as consumers received their stimulus checks from the government. Apart from purchasing essential goods, a lot of consumers apparently chose to also buy new shoes.

Foot Locker's chairman and chief executive officer, Richard Johnson, mentioned in a press release on Monday that pent-up demand and the release of government aid had helped its sales numbers during the period. He added that sales numbers were strong for both its offline and online stores during the three-month period.

The company was originally forced to close all of its stores in March as the pandemic spread throughout the country. As of June, most of its locations have reopened. Foot Locker noted that some of its larger reopened locations have reported a surge in sales of at least 18 percent for its latest quarter. This is a huge departure from the 20 percent decline in same-store sales forecasted by analysts.

Johnson hinted that the company will be reporting quarterly earnings of between 66 cents and 70 cents per share. This is significantly better than what most analysts had predicted for the particular quarter, with a majority expecting a massive loss due to the company's store closures. Foot Locker is expected to release its full results on August 21. 

In the same press release, Foot Locker's chief financial officer, Lauren Peters, attributed the company's ability to generate profits for the period to its "disciplined expense management." She added that the company also mostly avoided the temptation to significantly slash its prices during the difficult quarter.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, Foot Locker declined to provide an outlook for its remaining two quarters this year. The company also withdrew its guidance after it released its first-quarter earnings in March.