Macy’s Inc. (NYSE:M) shares rose in premarket trading Wednesday after the department store operator reported first-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year outlook.
Earnings Beat Expectations
Macy’s reported adjusted earnings of 13 cents per share, ahead of analysts’ estimates of 3 cents. Revenue increased 1.8% year over year to $4.68 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion.
Macy’s delivered broad-based comparable sales growth across its key retail banners in the quarter. On a go-forward business basis, comparable sales increased 3.1%, led by strong performance at Bloomingdale’s, where comparable sales surged 10.2%.
Bluemercury also posted solid growth with a 6.4% increase in comparable sales, while Macy’s flagship banner recorded a 1.6% gain. The company’s Reimagine 200 locations, a key part of its turnaround strategy, saw comparable sales rise 2.4%. This reflects continued momentum across its store portfolio.
Gross margin was 38.9%, down 30 basis points from the prior-year period. Excluding a 30-basis-point impact from tariffs, gross margin was flat year over year.
Adjusted EBITDA declined to $290 million, or 5.9% of revenue, from $304 million, or 6.3% of revenue, a year earlier.
Capital Returns And Balance Sheet
Macy’s ended the quarter with $1.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $2.0 billion of available borrowing capacity under its asset-based credit facility.
The board declared a quarterly dividend of 19.15 cents per share, payable July 1, 2026, to shareholders of record as of June 15, 2026.
During the quarter, the company repurchased 2.6 million shares for $50 million. About $1.1 billion remains available under its $2.0 billion share repurchase authorization.
Raises Full-Year Outlook
Macy’s raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings forecast to a range of $2.00 to $2.20 per share. This is up from prior guidance of $1.90 to $2.10 per share. The new outlook brackets the analyst consensus estimate of $2.07 per share.
The company also increased its fiscal 2026 sales forecast to between $21.50 billion and $21.75 billion, compared with previous guidance of $21.40 billion to $21.65 billion. Analysts were expecting sales of $21.59 billion.
For the second quarter, Macy’s forecast adjusted earnings of 29 cents to 34 cents per share, below the consensus estimate of 35 cents. Revenue is expected to range from $4.75 billion to $4.80 billion, roughly in line with analysts’ expectations of $4.76 billion.
During Macy’s earnings call, management said rising fuel costs are expected to create a full-year headwind of roughly 210 to 220 basis points.
However, executives noted that the impact of higher transportation and fuel expenses is being largely offset by lower tariff-related costs, resulting in a broadly neutral net cost effect for the year.
M Price Action: Macy’s shares were up 2.90% at $22.29 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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