Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2024 and updated its annual guidance.

“During the second quarter, we delivered strong earnings performance in a challenging consumer environment,” said Tony Spring, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “Our colleagues executed with discipline, supporting gross margin expansion and effective expense control throughout the organization. We are seeing signs of our strategy taking root, including two consecutive quarters of positive comparable sales in Macy’s First 50 locations. We are encouraged by the early traction of our Bold New Chapter and remain committed to returning Macy’s, Inc. to sustainable profitable growth.”

Second Quarter Highlights (comparisons are to the second quarter of 2023)

• Diluted earnings per share of $0.53 and Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.53.
  • Compares to diluted loss per share of $(0.08) and Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.26 in the second quarter of 2023.
• Net sales of $4.9 billion decreased 3.8%.
• Comparable sales down 4.0% on an owned basis and down 3.3% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.
  • Macy’s, Inc. go-forward business comparable sales, inclusive of go-forward locations and digital across nameplates, down 3.8% on an owned basis and down 3.0% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.
• Nameplate sales highlights include:
  • Macy’s net sales down 4.4%. Comparable sales down 4.5% on an owned basis and down 3.6% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.
    • Macy’s go-forward business comparable sales, inclusive of Macy’s go-forward locations and digital, down 4.3% on an owned basis and down 3.3% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.
      • Go-forward locations comparable sales down 2.4% on an owned basis and down 2.3% on an owned-plus-licensed basis.
      • First 50 locations comparable sales, included within go-forward locations comparable sales, up 0.8% on an owned basis and up 1.0% on an owned-plus-licensed basis.
      • Non-First 50 go-forward locations comparable sales, included within go-forward locations comparable sales, down 3.8% on an owned basis and down 3.7% on an owned-plus-licensed basis.
    • Macy’s non-go-forward locations comparable sales down 6.5% on both an owned and owned-plus-licensed basis.
  • Bloomingdale’s net sales down 0.2%. Comparable sales down 1.1% on an owned basis and down 1.4% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.
  • Bluemercury net sales up 1.7%. Comparable sales were up 2.0% on an owned basis.
• Other revenue of $159 million increased $9 million.
  • Represented 3.2% of net sales, an increase of 30 basis points.
  • Credit card revenues, net increased $5 million to $125 million. Net credit losses were in line with our expectations. As a reminder, in the second quarter of 2023, credit card revenues were negatively impacted by a change in net credit loss trends.
  • Macy’s Media Network revenue, net rose $4 million to $34 million driven by higher advertiser and campaign counts.
• Merchandise inventories¹ increased 6.0%.
  • Inventories were higher than expected due to second quarter sales results as well as the decision to invest into areas of strength for the second half of 2024.
  • The conversion to cost accounting was estimated to account for approximately half of the increase from the prior year.
• Gross margin rate¹ of 40.5% increased 240 basis points.
  • Merchandise margin increased 210 basis points driven by lower year over year discounting, favorable shortage due to the company’s asset protection work, and partially by the company’s shift to cost accounting.
  • Delivery expense as a percent of net sales improved 30 basis points driven by lower shipped sales volumes and improved delivery expense control reflecting cost savings and process re-engineering initiatives.
• Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expense of $2.0 billion decreased $7 million.
  • SG&A expense as a percent of total revenue was 38.7%, 120 basis points higher due to lower net sales.
  • SG&A expense dollars benefited from the company’s cost controls while it protected customer-facing investments, particularly in First 50 locations.
• Asset sale gains of $36 million increased $32 million due to an earlier-than-expected non-go-forward asset sale.

2024 Guidance

The company updated its annual outlook to reflect a more discriminating consumer and heightened promotional environment relative to its prior expectations. The company believes the outlook range provided gives the flexibility to address the ongoing uncertainty in the discretionary consumer market. The company is reaffirming its annual Adjusted diluted earnings per share outlook. The company continues to view 2024 as a transition and investment year, which includes investments in key customer-focused strategic initiatives. Supported by the company’s strong balance sheet, the company will continue to focus on enhancing gross margin and exercising expense control to protect profitability while navigating ongoing macro headwinds.

The full updated outlook for 2024, presented on a 52-week basis, can be found in the presentation posted to macysinc.com/investors.

Adjusted diluted EPS excludes any potential impact from the credit card late fee ruling, which was stayed on May 10, 2024. Additionally, the impact of any potential future share repurchases associated with the company’s current share repurchase authorization is also excluded.

The company does not provide reconciliations of the forward-looking non-GAAP measures of comparable owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace sales change and adjusted diluted earnings per share to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measures because the timing and amount of excluded items are unreasonably difficult to fully and accurately estimate. For the same reasons, the company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could be material to future results. See Important Information Regarding Financial Measures.

Conference Call and Webcasts

A webcast of Macy's, Inc.’s call with analysts and investors to report its second quarter of 2024 sales and earnings will be held today (August 21, 2024) at 8:00 a.m. EDT. Macy’s, Inc.’s webcast, along with the associated presentation, is accessible to the media and general public via the company's website at www.macysinc.com. Analysts and investors may call 1-877-407-0832. A replay of the conference call will be available on the company’s website or by calling 1-877-660-6853, using passcode 13747963, about three hours after the conclusion of the call. Additional information on Macy’s, Inc., including past news releases, is available at www.macysinc.com/newsroom.

Important Information Regarding Financial Measures

Please see the final pages of this news release for important information regarding the calculation of the company’s non-GAAP financial measures.

About Macy’s, Inc.

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) is a trusted source for quality brands through our iconic nameplates – Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury. Headquartered in New York City, our comprehensive digital and nationwide footprint empowers us to deliver a seamless shopping experience for our customers. For more information, visit macysinc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Macy’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this release because of a variety of factors, including Macy’s ability to successfully implement its A Bold New Chapter strategy, including the ability to realize the anticipated benefits associated with the strategy, conditions to, or changes in the timing of proposed real estate and other transactions, prevailing interest rates and non-recurring charges, the effect of potential changes to trade policies, store closings, competitive pressures from specialty stores, general merchandise stores, off-price and discount stores, manufacturers’ outlets, the Internet and catalogs and general consumer spending levels, including the impact of the availability and level of consumer debt, possible systems failures and/or security breaches, the potential for the incurrence of charges in connection with the impairment of tangible and intangible assets, including goodwill, declines in credit card revenues, Macy’s reliance on foreign sources of production, including risks related to the disruption of imports by labor disputes, regional or global health pandemics, and regional political and economic conditions, the effect of weather, inflation, inventory shortage, and labor shortages, the amount and timing of future dividends and share repurchases, our ability to execute on our strategies and achieve expectations related to environmental, social, and governance matters, and other factors identified in documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the captions “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended February 3, 2024. Macy’s disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

MACY’S, INC.

Important Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The company reports its financial results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). However, management believes that certain non-GAAP financial measures provide users of the company's financial information with additional useful information in evaluating operating performance. Management believes that providing supplemental changes in comparable sales on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis, which includes adjusting for the impact of comparable sales of departments licensed to third parties and marketplace sales, assists in evaluating the company's ability to generate sales growth, whether through owned businesses, departments licensed to third parties or marketplace sales, and in evaluating the impact of changes in the manner in which certain departments are operated. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP financial measure which the company believes provides meaningful information about its operational efficiency by excluding the impact of changes in tax law and structure, debt levels and capital investment. In addition, management believes that excluding certain items from EBITDA, net income and diluted earnings per share that are not associated with the company’s core operations and that may vary substantially in frequency and magnitude from period-to-period provides useful supplemental measures that assist in evaluating the company's ability to generate earnings and to more readily compare these metrics between past and future periods.

The company does not provide reconciliations of the forward-looking non-GAAP measures of comparable owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace sales change and adjusted diluted earnings per share to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measures because the timing and amount of excluded items are unreasonably difficult to fully and accurately estimate. For the same reasons, the company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could be material to future results.

Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplementing, and not as an alternative or substitute for, the company's financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Certain of the items that may be excluded or included in non-GAAP financial measures may be significant items that could impact the company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows and should therefore be considered in assessing the company's actual and future financial condition and performance. Additionally, the amounts received by the company on account of sales of departments licensed to third parties and marketplace sales are limited to commissions received on such sales. The methods used by the company to calculate its non-GAAP financial measures may differ significantly from methods used by other companies to compute similar measures. As a result, any non-GAAP financial measures presented herein may not be comparable to similar measures provided by other companies.

Non-GAAP financial measures, excluding certain items below, are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP measure as follows:

• EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are reconciled to GAAP net income (loss).
• Adjusted net income is reconciled to GAAP net income (loss).
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share is reconciled to GAAP diluted earnings (loss) per share.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share

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