Macy’s Inc. raised its full-year guidance as the chain’s revamped stores helped drive positive same-store growth in the second quarter. While Macy’s quarterly profit and sales declined year-over-year, the retailer easily topped analyst estimates.

Earnings per share in the quarter were 41 cents on an adjusted basis, topping analysts’ consensus expectation of 18 cents. Revenues reached $4.81 billion versus $4.76 billion expected.

The department store operator now expects adjusted earnings of between $1.70 and $2.05 per share, compared with the previous range of $1.60 to $2 per share, and revenue between $21.15 billion and $21.45 billion, compared with the previous range of $21 billion to $21.4 billion.

Second Quarter Highlights

  • Macy’s, Inc. achieved net sales of $4.8 billion, exceeding the company’s guidance.
  • Macy’s, Inc. delivered GAAP diluted EPS of $0.31; Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.41, above the company’s guidance.
  • Macy’s, Inc. reported comparable sales up 0.8 percent on an owned basis and up 1.9 percent on a comparable owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace (“O+L+M”) basis, above the company’s guidance, benefiting from positive comparable sales across nameplates.
  • Macy’s Reimagine 125 locations achieved comparable sales growth of 1.1 percent on an owned basis and up 1.4 percent on an owned-plus-licensed (“O+L”) basis, continuing to outperform the broader Macy’s nameplate.
  • Bloomingdale’s posted its fourth consecutive quarter of growth, with comparable sales up 3.6 percent on an owned basis and increasing 5.7 percent on an O+L+M basis.
  • Bluemercury reported comparable sales growth of 1.2 percent, its 18th consecutive quarter of gains.
  • The company returned $100 million to shareholders, including $50 million in quarterly dividends and $50 million in share repurchases.

“Our teams achieved better than expected top- and bottom-line results during the second quarter, driven by our strongest comparable sales growth in 12 quarters, reflecting the strong performance in Macy’s Reimagine 125 locations, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury,” said Tony Spring, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “Our performance highlights the advantages of being a multi-brand, multi-category, omni-channel retailer. The substantive, enterprise-wide improvements across our business, with a strong focus on customer experience, give us further confidence that our Bold New Chapter initiatives can drive sustainable, long-term profitable growth.”

Second Quarter Results
(comparisons are to the second quarter of 2024)

Macy’s, Inc. net sales, inclusive of store closures, decreased 2.5 percent to $4.8 billion, with comparable sales up 0.8 percent on an owned basis and up 1.9 percent on an O+L+M basis. Comparable sales reflect positive comparable sales at each of the company’s nameplates.

Macy’s, Inc.’s go-forward business comparable sales were up 1.1 percent on an owned basis and up 2.2 percent on an O+L+M basis. By nameplate:

  • Macy’s net sales, inclusive of store closures, were down 3.8 percent. Comparable sales were up 0.4 percent on an owned basis and up 1.2 percent on an O+L+M basis. Macy’s go-forward business comparable sales were up 0.7 percent on an owned basis and up 1.5 percent on an O+L+M basis.
    • Reimagine 125 locations, comparable sales were up 1.1 percent on an owned basis and up 1.4 percent on an O+L basis.
  • Bloomingdale’s net sales were up 4.6 percent. Comparable sales were up 3.6 percent on an owned basis and up 5.7 percent on an O+L+M basis.
  • Bluemercury’s net sales were up 3.3 percent. Comparable sales were up 1.2 percent on an owned basis.

Other revenue increased by $28 million, or 17.6 percent, to $187 million. Within Other revenue:

  • Credit card net revenues increased $28 million, or 22.4 percent, to $153 million.
  • Macy’s Media Network’s net revenue remained flat at $34 million.

Gross margin rate of 39.7 percent declined 80 basis points, reflecting proactive markdowns on remaining early Spring product to maintain healthy inventories and product bought under prior tariff rates.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense of $1.9 billion decreased $29 million, reflecting the net impact of the benefit from closed Macy’s locations and cost containment efforts partially offset by investments in the company’s go-forward business, including the Reimagine 125 locations and Bloomingdale’s. As a percent of total revenue, SG&A expense increased 20 basis points to 38.9 percent, driven by lower net sales.

Asset sale gains were $16 million compared to $36 million.

GAAP net income was $87 million, or 1.7 percent of total revenue, and Adjusted net income was $113 million, or 2.3 percent of total revenue. In the second quarter of 2024, net income was $150 million, or 2.9 percent of total revenue, and Adjusted net income was $149 million, or 2.9 percent of total revenue.

GAAP and Adjusted diluted EPS were $0.31 and $0.41, respectively. In the second quarter of 2024, GAAP and Adjusted diluted EPS were both $0.53.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) were $393 million, or 7.9 percent of total revenue, and Core Adjusted EBITDA4 was $377 million, or 7.5 percent of total revenue. In the second quarter of 2024, Adjusted EBITDA was $438 million, or 8.6 percent of total revenue, and Core Adjusted EBITDA was $402 million, or 7.9 percent of total revenue.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity
Merchandise inventories decreased 0.8 percent year-over-year.

The company ended the second quarter of 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $829 million and had $2.0 billion of available borrowing capacity under its asset-based credit facility. During July and August 2025, the company completed a series of financing transactions to further strengthen its balance sheet, increase financial flexibility, and modestly reduce leverage, resulting in a net reduction of approximately $340 million in long-term debt. The net reduction of long-term debt reflects the issuance of $500 million in new senior unsecured notes due 2033, and the repayment of approximately $840 million of certain outstanding notes and debentures, using proceeds from the issuance and cash on hand. As a result of these actions, the company has no material long-term debt maturities until 2030.

As of the end of the second quarter of 2025, total debt was $2.6 billion, which included $194 million of redeemed debt that was not settled until August 28, 2025, as part of the actions.

Shareholder Returns
Through its quarterly dividend, the company returned $50 million in cash to shareholders in the second quarter of 2025 and $100 million in the first half of 2025. Additionally, on August 22, 2025, Macy’s, Inc.’s board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 18.24 cents per share on Macy’s, Inc.’s common stock, payable on October 1, 2025, to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 15, 2025.

During the second quarter of 2025, the company repurchased 4.0 million of its shares for $50 million, bringing total repurchases in the first half of 2025 to 12.6 million shares for $151 million. The company had approximately $1.2 billion remaining under its $2.0 billion share repurchase authorization as of the end of the second quarter of 2025.

The company has revised its annual guidance, including raising net sales and adjusted diluted EPS guidance, to reflect the performance in the second quarter of 2025 and the anticipated gross margin impact of current tariffs in the third and fourth quarters. Consistent with prior expectations, the full-year guidance also assumes the consumer will be more choiceful in the second half of 2025 and provides flexibility to respond to the competitive promotional landscape. The company is confident that its strong financial position, diverse brand and category offerings, and range from off-price to luxury provide flexibility to adapt to the evolving environment. The company remains committed to the Bold New Chapter strategy and reinvesting most of the savings from the strategy to support long-term sales growth.

For Macy’s, Inc., the company expects:

Image/Chart courtesy Macy’s