Macy's Stock Rises as Earnings Top Estimates and Inventory Improves

Macy’s
stock was rising Thursday after the retailer reported third-quarter adjusted earnings and sales that beat Wall Street estimates.

Macy’s
(ticker: M) reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 21 cents a share on sales of $4.86 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting no earnings on sales of $4.78 billion.

In the same period last year, the company posted earnings of 52 cents a share on revenue of $5.23 billion.

“We delivered better-than-expected top- and bottom-line third-quarter results and are entering the holiday period in a healthy inventory position,” Chief Executive Tony Spring said in the earnings release. Macy’s merchandise inventory was down 6% from the prior year.

Margins also improved from the prior year due to lower permanent markdowns in the Macy’s brand and a decline in costs, the company said.

Macy’s adjusted its outlook for fiscal 2023, and said the fresh guidance reflects the risks associated with an uncertain economic environment and the related pressures on consumers.

Earnings for fiscal 2023 are expected at between $2.88 to $3.13 a share, which is a change from previous guidance of $2.70 to $3.20 a share. Sales of $22.9 billion to $23.2 billion are expected, compared with prior estimates of $22.8 billon to 23.2 billion.

Shares of Macy’s climbed 5.2% in recent trading Thursday to $13.26 and were on pace for their highest close since Aug. 21, according to Dow Jones Market Data. This was the stock’s third consecutive day in the green, and was its best three-day stretch since May 2022. Shares have now fallen 36% this year.

Nordstrom
(JWN) was down 4.1% while
Kohl’s
(KSS) dropped 3.8%.

The
S&P 500
declined 0.1% and the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
dropped 0.3% in afternoon trading Thursday.

Write to Angela Palumbo at [email protected]

Read the full article here