“I want you to put the word out there that we back up.” 

That’s what Macy’s just emphatically shouted to every investor on Wall Street after dropping an earnings beat of epic proportions. Remember, this is the same dying retailer that’s been down bad (like, down 50% bad) since its 2021 highs. Every analyst from Manhattan to Timbuktu had written them off as just another relic of mall culture, lumped in with JCPenney and Sears. 

For years, Macy’s has been shorthand for “mall dinosaur,” the type of place you only walk through to get to the Apple Store. But as Geno Smith famously said, “They wrote me off, but I didn’t write back.” And now Macy’s is up nearly 20% after posting its first same-store sales growth since 2022.

If you look at the numbers, Macy’s silenced all the haters… pretty quickly. Adjusted earnings came in at 41 cents a share versus the 18 cents analysts already had penciled in. Revenue clocked in at $4.81 billion, which is technically down 2.5% from a year ago, but still better than the $4.76 billion the Street expected. It reminds me of the time I got a C+ on a Geometry exam after the teacher thought I’d fail the class… suddenly you’re a legend at the lunchroom table. Same feeling here: everyone expected Macy’s to belly flop, and instead it landed a half-decent cannonball. 

(Source: Investopedia)

And the big number everyone was watching (comparable sales) finally turned positive. They were up 0.8% on an owned basis and 1.9% when you include licensed and marketplace locations. That’s the best comp sales growth Macy’s has seen in 12 quarters.

With retail slowly shuffling its way from the nursing home to the graveyard, this kind of “I’m not f***ing leaving” moment was bound to have CEO Tony Spring glowing from ear to ear. He credited the turnaround to revamped stores, tighter assortments, and healthier inventory. In other words: Macy’s finally stopped burying customers under endless stacks of the same sad sweater and actually gave them something worth buying. 

In addition to the flagship stores showing signs of life… Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s bougie alter ego, posted 3.6% comp growth, while Bluemercury, their luxury spa and skincare arm, rose 1.2%. Even the company’s credit card business pulled its weight, tacking on another $28 million to the top line (can we all agree nothing says “we’re back” like a fresh pile of consumer debt?).

Oh, and before I forget… if you needed proof this isn’t a one-off lucky quarter, Macy’s went ahead and raised its full-year outlook. They’re now projecting earnings between $1.70 and $2.05 a share, up from $1.60 to $2.00, with revenue bumped to a range of $21.15 to $21.45 billion. It’s a modest increase, but an important one, especially when you remember they were busy hacking away at guidance just last quarter. And with their Super Bowl (holiday shopping season) right around the corner, you can bet Macy’s is feeling themselves a little right now.

I hate to be Johnny Raincloud and rain on Macy’s early parade… but there are still some alarms going off in the background. Despite Trump’s tariff legal battle with the courts… for now tariffs are still a problem, and management admitted they’ll have to sprinkle in some selective price hikes to offset costs. Plus, holiday spending is expected to dip around 5% this year… the first pullback since 2020. Obviously, that’s not ideal for a retailer whose bread and butter comes during the November-December shopping blitz. 

Still, after being taken behind the barn and nearly put out of its misery, Macy’s just reminded investors it’s not ready to be buried in the mall food court. For now, the cologne ads are hitting, the denim racks are moving, and Wall Street is more than happy to buy what Macy’s is selling.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News doesn’t hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.