Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) reported results for the third quarter 2019 with comparable sales decline of 3.9% on an owned basis; decline of 3.5% on an owned plus licensed basis. Macy’s diluted EPS of $0.01 and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.07.
In third quarter, the company lowered its annual sales and EPS guidance but prepared to execute a strong holiday season. Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) also lowered its annual sales and EPS guidance for fiscal 2019.
“After seven consecutive quarters of comparable sales growth, we experienced a deceleration in our third quarter sales. While we anticipated a negative comp as we were lapping a very strong third quarter last year, the sales deceleration was steeper than we expected. However, having cleared the excess inventory we faced earlier in the year, we were able to take a more balanced approach to sales and profit in the quarter, resulting in significantly improved margin compression versus the first half of the year,” said Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “Our third quarter sales were impacted by the late arrival of cold weather, continued soft international tourism and weaker than anticipated performance in lower tier malls. We also experienced a temporary impact on our e-commerce business due in part to work on the site in preparation for the fourth quarter. The team has completed that work, the site is upgraded and our customers can expect an improved experience this holiday season. Based primarily on the impact of our third quarter sales trend, we are updating our annual guidance.”