Legacy department store Macy's beat fourth-quarter forecasts Thursday morning by posting better-than-expected earnings and revenue declines. M stock bolted higher on Macy's positive guidance.
Although better than expected, Macy's earnings and revenue fell for the third quarter in a row. Earnings dropped 23% to $1.88 per share as revenue slid 4.6% to $8.26 billion. Still, Macy's topped the FactSet earnings consensus of $1.58 per share on $8.23 billion in revenue.
Comparable sales at Macy's-owned stores fell 3.3% year over year. Comparable sales at owned-plus-licensed stores fell 2.7% for the quarter. However, owned-store comparable sales and owned-plus-licensed sales rose 3.1% and 3.3%, respectively, from 2019 prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
Macy's noted the retail landscape remains highly competitive, grappling with industrywide inventory surpluses. Year-over-year performance reflected macroeconomic pressures on consumer wallets without the benefits of a government stimulus, the company said.
Macy's beauty, men's tailored apparel, dresses and shoes all saw strength during the period. Meanwhile, active, casual clothing and soft home sales declined over the year.
For fiscal 2023, Macy's projects adjusted earnings ranging from $3.67 per share to $4.11 per share, on sales between $23.7 billion and $24.2 billion. The FactSet consensus forecasts earnings of $3.78 per share on $24.2 billion in revenue.
M Stock
M stock bolted 11% higher Thursday after an initial 14% premarket surge following the earnings report. Shares have been consolidating since the start of February, and have been testing support at their 200-day moving average.
Macy's shares are down 2% over the past three months and up 10% year to date.
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