Macy's(US:M) Benzinga·2025-12-03 14:43Core Viewpoint - Macy's Inc reported stronger sales and profit but experienced a decline in stock price, indicating market skepticism despite positive financial results [1][9]. Financial Performance - Quarterly sales reached $4.713 billion, a decrease of 0.6% year over year, surpassing analyst expectations of $4.621 billion [1]. - Adjusted earnings per share for the third quarter were 9 cents [4]. - Gross margin rate was 39.4%, down 20 basis points, primarily due to a 50-basis-point tariff impact [4]. - Adjusted EBITDA totaled $285 million, representing 5.8% of total revenue [4]. Comparable Sales Growth - Comparable sales increased by 2.5% on an owned basis and 3.2% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis [2]. - Bloomingdale's saw an 8.8% increase in comparable sales on an owned basis, marking its strongest performance in over three years [3]. Shareholder Returns - The company returned approximately $99 million to shareholders through $49 million in dividends and $50 million in share repurchases [4]. - A regular quarterly dividend of 18.24 cents per share was declared, payable on January 2, 2026 [5]. Financial Outlook - Macy's raised its fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings outlook to $2.00–$2.20 per share, up from a previous range of $1.70–$2.05, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.96 [6]. - The fiscal 2025 sales forecast was lifted to $21.475 billion–$21.625 billion from $21.150 billion–$21.450 billion, compared to the analyst estimate of $21.501 billion [6]. Market Sentiment - The company expressed a cautious tone ahead of the holiday season, noting that customers are becoming more selective and that higher tariffs will impact earnings [8]. - Management is taking a "prudent view" of the upcoming quarter due to challenging year-over-year comparisons [8].