Macy’s (M): Strength in luxury and Bold New Chapter progress are positives for the retailer

Shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) dropped over 2% on Tuesday. The stock has gained 6% over the past three months. After postponing its third quarter 2024 earnings results last week due to an accounting discrepancy, the company now plans to release its full financials on Wednesday, December 11.

Preliminary Q3 results

Macy’s net sales for Q3 2024 decreased 2.4% year-over-year to $4.74 billion. This is in line with the outlook it provided last quarter. Comparable sales were down 2.4% on an owned basis and down 1.3% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis. Comparable sales for Macy’s go-forward business were down 2% on an owned basis and down 0.9% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.

The company saw sales growth at its Macy’s nameplate First 50 locations and its Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury nameplates but this was offset by weakness in Macy’s other non-First 50 locations as well as its digital channel and cold weather categories. The retailer also said it was making progress on its Bold New Chapter strategy initiatives.

Results by nameplate

Sales for the Macy’s nameplate were down 3.1%, with comparable sales down 3% on an owned basis and down 2.2% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis. Comparable sales for its go-forward business were down 2.6% on an owned basis and down 1.8% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.

Comparable sales for Macy’s First 50 locations were up 1.9% on both an owned and owned-plus-licensed basis, marking their third consecutive quarter of comp growth. This division benefited from strength in the fragrances, dresses, and men’s and women’s active apparel categories.

Net sales for Bloomingdale’s were up 1.4%, with comparable sales up 1% on an owned basis and up 3.2% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis. The growth was driven by strength in contemporary apparel, beauty and digital. Net sales for Bluemercury were up 3.2% and comparable sales were up 3.3% on an owned basis, marking its fifteenth consecutive quarter of comp sales growth.

Macy’s stated that its November comparable sales were trending ahead of third quarter levels across nameplates.

Other metrics

Macy’s Other revenue totaled $161 million, down 9.6% year-over-year. Credit card revenues fell 15.5% to $120 million. Macy’s Media Network revenue rose 13.9% to $41 million. Asset sale gains totaled $66 million. The company ended the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $315 million and total debt of $2.86 billion.