Macy’s Q3 Earnings Beat Street Estimates; Shares Slip as Current Quarter Outlook Disappoints (M)

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), an operator of retail stores and Internet websites, today reported strong third-quarter financial results driven by strong demand from online shoppers and improved same-store sales. Strong third-quarter financial resulted led the company to raise its outlook for the full year. However, Macy’s outlook for the current quarter disappointed investors, pushing shares down more than 4% in pre-market trading.

For the third quarter ended October 29, 2011, Macy’s reported earnings of $139 million, or $0.32 per share, compared with $10 million, or $0.02 per share reported for the same period in the previous year. Analysts were expecting the Cincinnati, Ohio-based retailer to report earnings of $0.16 per share in the third quarter.

Macy’s gross margin for the third quarter fell 60 basis points to 39.40%. The company’s sales for the third quarter rose 4.1% to $5.85 billion, slightly below analysts’ estimate of $5.87 billion. The retailer reported a 4% increase in same-store sales in the third quarter. Macy’s online sales jumped 40% in the third quarter as it saw strong demand from shoppers online.

Commenting on the third-quarter financial results, Terry J. Lundgren, Chairman, President and CEO of Macy’s, said that a number of factors contributed to the excellent third-quarter performance. Lundgren said that the company continues to move forward in the execution of those strategies that have created a culture of growth. He added that the company’s third-quarter results benefited from a strong credit performance due to improved portfolio quality.

For the year, Macy’s once again raised its outlook. The company now expects full-year earnings to come in between $2.70 per share and $2.75 per share. The company’s previous earnings forecast for the full year were $2.60-$2.65 per share.

For the current quarter, Macy’s expects earnings to come in between $1.52 per share and $1.57 per share, compared with analysts’ estimate of $1.66 per share.

Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.