The company had been expected to report a loss of about 55 cents a share on revenue of $2.88 billion, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters. J.C. Penney shares were down 11 percent midmorning Friday. Nomura Research retail analyst Robert Drbul told CNBC's " Squawk Box " on Friday that the company is making "tremendous progress" in its turnaround efforts. But like many of its competitors, he added, Penney is going into the fourth quarter with "elevated inventories," noting merchandise stockpiles were up 9.3 percent in the quarter.