Macy’s Stock Surges as Company Raises 2022 Profit

Despite decades of rising inflation that threatened to curb expenditure, Macy’s posted fiscal first-quarter profits and sales ahead of analysts’ projections on Thursday, as consumers returned to malls to purchase new clothes, bags, and luxury products. The department store giant, which also owns Bloomingdale’s, boosted its profit projection for fiscal 2022 and reiterated its sales outlook, citing higher credit card income for the remainder of the year.

It joins Nordstrom in defying a larger retail sector trend of pessimistic projections and warnings of a consumer spending slowdown. Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, and Abercrombie & Fitch have all recently warned that rising logistical and labor costs will continue to cut into company earnings in the near future. On the announcement, Macy’s stock jumped more than 14% in premarket trade.

The company forecasts revenue to be flat to up 1% in 2022 compared to 2021, which would be in the $24.46 billion to $24.7 billion range. It now expects adjusted profits of $4.53 to $4.95 per share, up from a previous range of $4.13 to $4.52 per share.Macy’s reported net income of $286 million, or 98 cents per share, for the three months ended April 30, compared to $103 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier. It earned $1.08 per share after adjusting for one-time factors, above analysts’ forecasts of 82 cents per share. Revenue increased to $5.35 billion from $4.71 billion the year before, above analysts’ expectations.

Digital sales increased by 2%, accounting for 33% of total net sales for the quarter. Macy’s claimed it had 44.4 million active customers, up 14% from the previous year, thanks to its loyalty program, which drew more people online and into stores. When compared to the previous year, same-store sales for both owned and licensed retailers increased by 12.4%. Refinitiv surveyed analysts, who predicted a 13.3 percent gain.