Macy's Inc. shares fell sharply in pre-market trading after the retailer posted a quarter that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines, but offered forward guidance that failed to excite investors. The stock slid 5.2% in pre-open trade to $20.39, pressured by a guidance range that many market participants viewed as only marginally improved.
For the quarter, Macy's reported adjusted earnings of $0.63 per share, comfortably above the consensus estimate of $0.35. Revenue totaled roughly $4.87 billion, slightly better than forecasts and up 1.1% from the prior year. Despite those beats, the company set a full-year revenue guidance range of $21.68 billion to $21.83 billion, a band that came in at or just below the analyst consensus of roughly $21.82 billion and left investors wanting a clearer raise.
Comparable-store sales grew 2.7% across all nameplates, with Bloomingdale's described as surging and Bluemercury showing solid gains. That improvement, however, marked a slowdown from the 3% comparable-sales growth Macy's reported in the first quarter.
The retailer also raised its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share outlook to a range of $2.15 to $2.35. Management disclosed that the revision included an approximately $0.05-per-share benefit tied to tariff refunds, a one-time item that analysts highlighted as inflating the headline improvement in EPS.
"This is now six quarters of better-than-expected top line and bottom line performance," said CEO Tony Spring.
Even with six consecutive quarters of upside relative to expectations as framed by the CEO, the market focused on whether Macy's could sustain momentum into the second half without the tariff-related tailwind.
Technical and macro factors compounded the stock's weakness. The shares had already slipped below their 200-day moving average in the prior session. Pre-market equity futures and sector indices were broadly weaker - S&P 500 futures were down 0.5%, the Dow off 0.2% and the Nasdaq down 1.3% - while U.S. oil prices topping $100 per barrel helped push the 10-year Treasury yield to its highest level since late 2023. Those moves heightened inflation concerns ahead of an upcoming Consumer Price Index reading and a Federal Reserve meeting.
Market-data snapshots accompanying the session showed index and commodity moves including NDX down 1.17%, US500 down 0.61%, DJI down 0.3%, and crude-related indicators posting gains. Taken together, the reaction reflected a classic case of a company that beat near-term expectations but delivered guidance and earnings-quality details that left investors wanting more certainty about sustainable growth.
Overall, Macy's strong operational execution in the quarter was not enough to overcome investor concerns about a modest guidance improvement, a decelerating comp-sales trend, the inclusion of a non-recurring tariff refund in EPS guidance and an unfavorable macro environment that amplified the downside.