Macy's $M reported first-quarter comparable sales growth of 3% on Wednesday, its strongest first-quarter performance in four years, and raised its full-year net sales and earnings guidance.
Net sales rose 1.8% to $4.68 billion in the quarter ended May 2. Net income came in at $63 million, or 23 cents per diluted share, compared with $38 million, or 13 cents per diluted share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings per share were 13 cents. Analysts had expected first-quarter revenue of $4.61 billion and adjusted earnings per share of three cents, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The standout performer was Bloomingdale's, where comparable sales surged 10.2%, marking a record for the division's first-quarter results and its seventh straight quarter of growth. The Macy's namesake banner saw a 1.6% comparable sales increase, and Bluemercury added a 6.4% gain. Comparable sales at the company's 200 so-called Reimagine locations — stores that have received targeted investment — rose 2.4%, the company said.
Macy's raised its full-year net sales guidance to a range of $21.5 billion to $21.75 billion, up from a prior forecast of $21.4 billion to $21.65 billion. The company now expects comparable sales to grow between 0.5% and 1.2% for the year, compared with a previous range of down 0.5% to up 0.5%. Full-year adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance was lifted to $2.00 to $2.20, from $1.90 to $2.10.
"We're off to a strong start to the year, exceeding expectations for the fifth consecutive quarter as our Bold New Chapter strategy continues to build momentum," CEO Tony Spring said in a statement. Spring told CNBC that the same trends from the first quarter have continued into the second, and that the company raised its outlook "despite the macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty."
The results Wednesday add to a string of encouraging quarters for a company that Spring took charge of roughly two years ago, with his so-called Bold New Chapter plan redirecting resources toward luxury nameplates and higher-potential store locations while exiting weaker ones.
The company ended the quarter with $1.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $2.0 billion of available borrowing capacity under its credit facility. Macy's returned $50 million to shareholders through its quarterly dividend and repurchased $50 million of its stock during the period.
Shares climbed roughly 4% before the opening bell.