Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. cut its fourth-quarter and full-year forecasts Thursday, saying weaker sales eroded profits.

The El Segundo-based sporting goods retailer said it now expects to earn between 25 cents per share and 28 cents per share for the fourth quarter, and between $1.22 and $1.25 per share for fiscal year 2007.

The revised guidance comes in below Wall Street’s expectations of 42 cents per share for the quarter and $1.38 per share for the year, according to a poll of analysts by Thomson Financial.

In November, Big Five said it expected a profit of 36 cents per share to 46 cents per share for the fourth quarter, and $1.33 per share to $1.43 per share for the year.

Big Five said that the holiday season was more difficult than expected, with same-store sales off 4.7 percent. Big Five blamed weaker sales of popular wheeled shoes for children for nearly half of that decline and added that concerns about the economy reduced overall consumer spending.

Shares in Big Five sunk 4.2 percent to $12.19 in early trading Thursday on the Nasdaq.