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GNC shares plunge after CEO resigns and company suspends earnings guidance

Pedestrians walk by a GNC store in New York.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Shares of GNC dropped 25 percent Thursday, after the nutritional supplement company announced CEO Michael Archbold will step down. Pittsburgh-based GNC also suspended its earnings guidance for fiscal 2016.

The news followed a poor showing for the retailer's same-store sales, a key metric that indicates the health of existing, stable stores. The company reported a 3.7 percent slide in same-store sales for domestic company-owned stores, which includes online sales from GNC.com. In U.S. franchise locations, same-store sales dropped 6.6 percent in the quarter.

Year-over-year revenue decreased 2.4 percent in the quarter. The health, wellness and performance products retailer reported earnings of 79 cents per share on revenue of $673.2 million. Analysts were expecting EPS of 78 cents a share on revenue of $670.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates.

"The decision to suspend our fiscal 2016 guidance in no way detracts from our commitment to move quickly to deliver improved performance," said GNC's interim CEO Robert Moran, in a statement. "We remain confident in GNC's long-term prospects but believe it is prudent to suspend guidance as we identify actions to address the challenges we are currently facing in our business."

Shares of GNC are down more than 34 percent this year.

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