Shares of Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) rose on Wednesday after the retailer posted first quarter earnings and same store sales that beat estimates. Earnings declined by a penny from the year ago period but beat estimates by $0.11. Revenue declined by 0.7% and fell shy of analysts’ estimates by $20 million.
Macy’s also reaffirmed its full year guidance that was in line with Wall Street estimates. The company attributed the positive results to its initiative of refreshing outdated stores, as well as using its mobile app to attract more customers.
Macy’s stock, which was up 6.5% in premarket trading session, has lost 26.8% since the beginning of the year.
M Earnings & Outlook
Macy’s said it earned $136 million or $0.44 per share in the quarter, compared with $139 million or 0.45 per share in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to $5.504 billion from $5.54 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by Factset had expected earnings per share of $0.33 on revenue of $5.05 billion.
Same-store sales on an owned plus licensed basis rose 0.7%, and 0.6% on an owned basis. Wall street had expected same-store sales on an owned plus licensed basis to decrease 0.2%.
Looking ahead, Macy’s sees full year adjusted EPS of $3.05 to $3.25, flat net revenues, and same-store sales to be flat to up to 1%. Analysts expect full year earnings of $3.09 per share on revenue of $25.09 billion, and comparable sales to increase 0.4%.
Macy’s CEO Comments
Macy’s Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Gennette commented, “Macy’s, Inc. is off to a solid start this year, delivering our sixth consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth and making progress against the North Star Strategy. As an Omni channel retailer, we are focused on growing our customer base by providing a great experience across all channels and taking market share category by category. Our brick & mortar sales trend improved sequentially in the first quarter, supported by the Growth50 stores and Backstage.”
“We had another quarter of double-digit growth in our digital business, and mobile continues to be our fastest-growing channel. We are pleased with the progress we are making on our strategic initiatives as they continue to drive top-line growth, keeping us on track to reach our 2019 goals. We believe these initiatives, coupled with productivity improvements, position our company well for long-term profit growth,” Gennette added.
Macy’s Inc., Profile
Macy’s operates about 690 department stores under the brands Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, and more than 180 specialty stores under the names Macy’s Backstage, Bloomingdale’s The Outlet, and Bluemercury.
Macy’s also operates e-commerce sites, owns 65% of a Chinese e-commerce joint venture, and licenses two Bloomingdale’s stores in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Women’s apparel, accessories, shoes, cosmetics, and fragrances constitute approximately 61% of Macy’s sales. The retailer has headquarters in Cincinnati and New York City.