Macy's raises annual forecasts as Bloomingdale's drives growth

Sept 10 — Macy's raised its annual sales and profit forecasts on Thursday after stronger performance at its ​upmarket Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury chains as higher-income shoppers keep spending despite broader economic uncertainty.

Under CEO Tony Spring, the department-store operator has been pursuing its "Bold ‌New Chapter" turnaround strategy focused on its higher-end businesses. It is prioritizing higher-margin products and full-price sales, closing ⁠underperforming stores and redirecting resources toward stronger ​markets to improve profitability.

In contrast, growth ⁠at its namesake stores, which make up the majority of its sales, has been ‌lagging as they depend ‌more heavily on value-conscious middle-income shoppers.

Macy's now expects fiscal 2026 net ⁠sales between $21.68 billion and $21.83 billion, compared with its ⁠prior forecast of $21.50 billion to $21.75 billion. It also sees annual adjusted earnings per share of $2.15 to $2.35, compared with its previous outlook of $2.00 to $2.20 per share.

The company said its forecast still followed a "prudent approach", given a competitive landscape, along with macroeconomic and geopolitical factors that could influence discretionary spending. It also accounted for ‌reinvestment in store development.

Macy's, which has received about $116 million ​in tariff refunds so far, including $18 million in the current quarter, said it aims to invest most of the proceeds in its turnaround efforts and to mitigate fuel price uncertainty.

Shares of the company fell about 2% in premarket trading.

Investors could be looking past the one-time tariff refund benefit and focusing on the company still trying to find a footing at its namesake banner, while competition ​for discretionary dollars is intense, eMarketer analyst Suzy Davidkhanian said.

Second-quarter sales rose 1.1% to $4.87 billion, topping ‌analysts' estimate of $4.83 ‌billion, according ⁠to data compiled by LSEG.

Comparable sales at Bloomingdale's, which sells luxury apparel, footwear and accessories, rose 11.3%. Those at Bluemercury, which sells beauty and skincare products, grew 6.2%, compared with a 1.1% increase at Macy's namesake stores.

Macy's posted adjusted quarterly profit of 40 ‌cents per share, excluding ​tariff refunds of 23 cents per share. Analysts ‌had expected a profit of ⁠37 cents ​per share.

(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru and Danielle Kaye in New York; Editing by ​Pooja Desai)

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