Macy's raises full-year profit forecast, shares jump

[May 26, 2022]  (Reuters) -Macy's Inc raised its full-year profit forecast on Thursday, helped by strong demand for apparel from consumers returning to work and social events, even as red-hot inflation saps consumer spending power for discretionary products.

The department store's shares, which fell nearly 16% last week in a broad retail sell-off, rose 13.5% to $21.80 in premarket trading.

Macy's, which was hit hard by store closures during the pandemic, has seen sales rebound sharply with the reopening of offices and resumption of social events, as demand for dresses, formal wear and jewelry booms.

The company joins rival Nordstrom Inc in bucking a trend of profit warnings from major retailers who are seeing consumers spend less on big-ticket discretionary products due to decades-high inflation.

Macy's said it expects fiscal 2022 adjusted earnings per share of $4.53 to $4.95, compared with its previous forecast of $4.13 to $4.52.

The company's net sales rose to $5.35 billion in the first quarter ended April 30, from $4.71 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected sales of $5.33 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)


 

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