Macy’s Earnings Beat Estimates. Why It Wasn’t Enough to Halt Its Stock Slide.

Macy’s records a tariff refund benefit of 23 cents a share in its fiscal second quarter. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Key Points

• Macy’s reports adjusted earnings of 63 cents a share for the fiscal second quarter, beating Wall Street expectations of 37 cents.
• The retailer raises its fiscal-year guidance, expecting adjusted earnings of $2.15 to $2.35 a share on net sales of $21.675 billion to $21.825 billion.
• Macy’s received a tariff refund benefit of 23 cents a share in the quarter, incorporating about 18 cents of that benefit into its outlook.

Macy’s stock was on pace to continue a recent slump Thursday even after the retailer reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its fiscal-year outlook.

Macy’s stock declined 3.3% to $20.80 in premarket trading. Shares fell 4.2% in the previous session and closed below their 200-day moving average, around the $21.60 level, for the first time since May 19.

Macy’s posted adjusted earnings of 63 cents a share for the fiscal second quarter ended Aug. 1, up from 35 cents a year ago and above Wall Street expectations of 37 cents.

Net sales grew 1% to $4.87 billion, beating the analyst consensus call for $4.81 billion, according to FactSet. Macy’s saw comparable sales across all its properties increase 2.7%, topping Wall Street’s forecast for a 1% increase but slightly decelerating from the 3% increase in the fiscal first quarter.

None of this was enough to move Macy’s stock higher. Shares closed at $26.21 on Aug. 4, their highest level since April 20, 2022. Since then, the stock has declined 18%.

While the top and bottom line numbers were encouraging, Guggenheim analyst Simeon Siegel noted Thursday that gross margin may have missed expectations, excluding the gross tariff refund.

Siegel added that the implied sales guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter matched the analyst consensus while adjusted earnings came in slightly below Wall Street’s view.

“We remain focused on scaling what is resonating most with customers,” CEO Tony Spring said in the earnings release. “Combined with disciplined execution, we expect these efforts to continue to build a durable foundation for sustainable, profitable growth.”

Macy’s raised its fiscal-year guidance and expects adjusted earnings between $2.15 to $2.35 a share on net sales of $21.675 billion to $21.825 billion. The company previously forecast adjusted earnings of $2 to $2.20 a share on net sales of $21.5 billion to $21.75 billion.

Macy’s added that it saw a net tariff refund benefit of 23 cents a share in the quarter and that about 5 cents of that benefit was incorporated into its outlook.

The new guidance at the midpoint was just above the Wall Street consensus call for both adjusted earnings and sales.

Macy’s also forecast comparable sales increasing 1% to 1.5% in the fiscal year up from its previous expectation of an increase of 0.5% to 1.2%.

Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8