Macy's Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations with Strong Sales Growth
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 1 hour ago
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Should l Buy M?
Source: seekingalpha
- Strong Earnings Performance: Macy's reported a Q4 Non-GAAP EPS of $1.67, beating expectations by $0.11, indicating a robust rebound in profitability that enhances market confidence in its future performance.
- Slight Revenue Decline: The company's Q4 revenue of $7.64 billion, down 1.7% year-over-year, still surpassed market expectations by $130 million, demonstrating Macy's ability to maintain market share in a competitive retail environment.
- Comparable Sales Growth: Macy's comparable sales grew by 1.8%, exceeding company guidance, which reflects effective responses to recovering consumer demand and suggests potential for continued sales growth in the future.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: The company projects fiscal 2025 net sales between $21.4 billion and $21.65 billion, exceeding the consensus of $20.97 billion, reflecting management's confidence in future performance and proactive market strategies.
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Analyst Views on M
Wall Street analysts forecast M stock price to rise
12 Analyst Rating
2 Buy
9 Hold
1 Sell
Hold
Current: 17.090
Low
8.00
Averages
21.33
High
27.00
Current: 17.090
Low
8.00
Averages
21.33
High
27.00
About M
Macy's, Inc. is an omni-channel retail company. The Company operates stores, websites and mobile applications under three brands, Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, which sell a range of merchandise, including apparel and accessories (men's, women's and kids'), cosmetics, home furnishings and other consumer goods. The Company has stores in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Its operations are conducted through Macy's, Macy's Backstage, Macy's small format, Bloomingdale's, Bloomingdale's The Outlet, Bloomie's, and Bluemercury. In addition, Bloomingdale's in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Al Zahra, Kuwait are operated under a license agreement with Al Tayer Insignia. The principal private label brands offered by the Company include Alfani, And Now This, Aqua, Bar III, Cerulean 6, Charter Club, Club Room, Epic Threads, first impressions, Giani Bernini, Holiday Lane, Home Design, Hotel Collection, Hudson Park, Ideology, I-N-C, jenni, JM Collection, and others.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Earnings Announcement Date: Macy's is set to release its Q4 earnings on March 18 before the market opens, with consensus EPS estimated at $1.56, reflecting a 13.3% year-over-year decline, and revenue expected at $7.51 billion, down 6.1% year-over-year, indicating challenges ahead for the company.
- Historical Performance: Over the past two years, Macy's has beaten EPS estimates 100% of the time and revenue estimates 88% of the time, suggesting strong market confidence ahead of the earnings report, which may attract investor interest.
- Estimate Revision Trends: In the last three months, Macy's EPS estimates have seen five upward revisions and two downward adjustments, while revenue estimates have experienced three upward revisions with no downward changes, reflecting analysts' optimistic outlook on the company's future performance.
- Market Influencing Factors: Macy's is expected to benefit from the bankruptcy of Saks, which could further drive sales growth and enhance investor confidence in its stock.
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- New CEO Appointment: Josh D'Amaro officially takes over as Disney's CEO today, succeeding Bob Iger, which marks a significant leadership change that is expected to influence the company's strategic direction and market performance.
- Positive Market Reaction: Macy's shares rose 9% after beating fourth-quarter expectations, yet the company provided a cautious outlook for fiscal year sales and earnings per share, indicating uncertainty in the retail sector.
- Rising Oil Prices: Brent crude oil prices increased by 3.2%, surpassing $103 per barrel, pushing U.S. diesel prices above $5 for the first time, reflecting the ongoing impact of the Iran conflict on global energy markets.
- Strong Semiconductor Sector: Micron anticipates a 148% year-over-year revenue growth for its second-quarter earnings, with shares up over 60% this year, highlighting a robust rebound in demand for AI memory storage, solidifying its position in the tech industry.
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- Sales Growth Highlight: Macy's comparable same-store sales increased by 1.8% during the holiday season, surpassing expectations, particularly driven by a 10% rise at Bloomingdale's, demonstrating effective execution of strategic priorities and boosting market confidence.
- Profitability Improvement: The company's earnings per share rose from $1.21 last year to $1.84, although adjusted EPS was $1.67, down from $1.80 a year ago but still exceeding market expectations, reflecting efforts in cost control and revenue diversification.
- Cautious Future Outlook: Macy's expects FY26 EPS to range between $1.90 and $2.10, with sales projected at $21.4B to $21.65B, indicating a flexible response to market changes despite tariff impacts and competitive pressures.
- Other Revenue Growth: The company saw a 16% increase in “other” revenue, with credit card revenue up 17.1% and media network revenue up 12.5%, indicating successful exploration of non-traditional retail income sources, enhancing overall financial stability.
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- Financial Guidance: Macy's projects adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2026 to be between $1.90 and $2.10, with net sales expected to range from $21.40 billion to $21.65 billion, reflecting a cautiously optimistic outlook on future market conditions.
- Sales Change Expectations: The company anticipates comparable owned, licensed, and marketplace sales changes to range from a decline of 0.5% to an increase of 0.5%, indicating potential impacts from macroeconomic and geopolitical factors on consumer spending.
- Investment Plans: Macy's plans to invest in its Reimagine 200 locations and luxury nameplates to support long-term sales growth, while also expecting fewer non-go-forward store closures in fiscal 2025 compared to fiscal 2024.
- Dividend Declaration: The board declared a 5% increase in the quarterly dividend to 19.15 cents per share, payable on April 1, 2026, to shareholders of record as of March 13, 2026, demonstrating the company's commitment to shareholder returns.
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- Earnings Growth: Macy's reported a net income of $507 million for the fourth quarter, translating to $1.84 per share, which marks a significant increase from last year's $342 million and $1.21 per share, indicating improved profitability.
- Adjusted Earnings: Excluding certain items, Macy's adjusted earnings stood at $458 million or $1.67 per share, reflecting effective cost control and operational optimization efforts by the company.
- Revenue Decline: Despite the earnings growth, Macy's fourth-quarter revenue fell by 1.7% to $7.639 billion compared to $7.768 billion last year, highlighting challenges in the retail environment and the impact of weak consumer spending.
- Market Reaction: While the increase in earnings did not offset the revenue decline, it demonstrates Macy's ability to maintain profitability in adversity, which may positively influence investor confidence.
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- Sales Decline: Macy's reported a 2.4% decline in Q3 sales to $4.7 billion for the period ending November 2, 2024, indicating challenges in its transformation strategy as it plans to close approximately 150 stores by 2026.
- Cautious Financial Outlook: Despite beating Wall Street expectations, Macy's forecasts sales between $21.4 billion and $21.65 billion for FY2025, with adjusted EPS of $1.90 to $2.10, both lower than last year's $21.8 billion revenue and $2.15 EPS, reflecting future uncertainties.
- Brand Growth Momentum: All of Macy's brands showed growth during the holiday quarter, particularly Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, which saw comparable sales increases of 9.9% and 1.3%, respectively, indicating the effectiveness of its high-end market strategy.
- Investment and Restructuring Plans: Macy's plans to close over a quarter of its stores in the next three years while committing to invest in the remaining 350 stores to enhance customer experience, with sales growth of 0.9% in 125 stores that received increased investment, demonstrating early success of its restructuring strategy.
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