Macy’s tops Wall Street expectations with strongest sales in 3 years

Macy’s is coming up for air, topping earnings estimates and delivering the best comparable sales jump in 12 consecutive quarters.

With $4.8 billion in net sales, the retail company exceeded the company’s guidance, raising its full-year financial guidance after cutting it earlier this year, the company announced in its second quarter earnings report.

In addition to is namesake brand, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, both owned by Macy’s, also saw comparable sales growth for a 4th and 18th consecutive quarter respectively.

“Our performance highlights the advantages of being a multi-brand, multi-category, omni-channel retailer,” Macy’s Inc. chairman and CEO Tony Spring said of the report.

Macy’s sales announcement is already well received among investors, with the company’s shares seeing a 13% uptick in premarket trading, and is still up by 17.% at the time of publishing.

Macy’s ‘Bold New Chapter’ is working

Facing years of slipping sales, Macy’s rolled out a turnaround blueprint last February designed to steady the retailer by focusing on store closures and modernizing existing operations.

The turnover plan included the announced closure of 150 “unproductive” Macy’s locations, and the expansion of the Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury brands through 45 new locations, both to be completed through 2026. Since the announcement, Macy’s has already shut down 64 stores.

“Our teams achieved better than expected top- and bottom-line results during the second quarter, driven by our strongest comparable sales growth in 12 quarters, reflecting the strong performance in Macy’s Reimagine 125 locations, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury,” Spring said.

The company’s raised guidance is betting on the Bold New Chapter initiative to “continue to gain traction” as it has already benefitted the retailer.

“The substantive, enterprise-wide improvements across our business, with a strong focus on customer experience, give us further confidence that our Bold New Chapter initiatives can drive sustainable, long-term profitable growth,” Spring added.

Not out of the woods yet

While the $4.3-billion company appears to be coming up for air, the hard economic landscape is still on the horizon.

With tariff fears still looming and an uncertain economy, buyers are expected to be more weary this holiday season, with Macy’s expecting to see a negative impact in its fourth quarter.

Still, the company stated it “is confident that its strong financial position, diverse brand and category offerings, and range from off-price to luxury provide flexibility to adapt to the evolving environment.”