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Macy's Rises After Posting Fourth Straight Comparable Sales Gain

Macy's Rises After Posting Fourth Straight Comparable Sales Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Macy’s Inc. is proving that its recent rebound isn’t just a fleeting moment: The company posted third-quarter same-store sales that beat Wall Street’s expectations. The shares rose as much as 4.3 percent.

  • Comparable sales, a closely-watched measure, rose 3.3 percent for owned and licensed stores, topping analyst expectations of 2.8 percent. It was the fourth straight quarter of growth.

Key Insights

  • Macy’s earlier struggles adapting to online shopping now look like a thing of the past: The latest data, including double-digit e-commerce growth, show the retailer’s rebound has staying power. On its conference call, the company said it expects to reach $1 billion in mobile sales this year.
  • Macy’s is heading into the crucial holiday shopping season with momentum. The retailer expressed confidence the gains will continue, raising its full-year forecast for profit to as much as $4.30 a share, up from a previous outlook of as much as $4.15.
  • “The business is continuing to firm up,” said Alex Arnold, managing director of the consumer sector at Odeon Capital Group. “I think they are well set-up for the holiday.”
  • Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said Macy’s weak results a year ago made it easier for the company post growth. Even so, the department-store chain has shown “genuine progress,” such as bringing in new loyalty members, he said.

Market Reaction

  • The shares rose as much as 4.3 percent to $37.32. Macy’s stock has gained 42 percent this year through Tuesday’s close.
Macy's Rises After Posting Fourth Straight Comparable Sales Gain

--With assistance from Karen Lin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Hema Parmar in New York at hparmar6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Roeder, Lisa Wolfson

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