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Macy's, Inc. (M - Free Report) is likely to register both top and bottom-line declines from the respective year-ago fiscal quarter’s reported numbers in its third-quarter fiscal 2023 results on Nov 16, before the opening bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $4,781 million, suggesting an 8.6% drop from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.

The consensus estimate for quarterly earnings per share has been stable at a penny in the past 30 days. The consensus mark indicates a decline of about 100% from 52 cents a share earned in the year-earlier quarter.

Macy's bottom line surpassed the consensus estimate by 100% in the last reported quarter. M has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 78.8%, on average.
 

Factors to Note

Soft consumer demand due to the inflationary environment, waning consumer confidence, and other macroeconomic pressures are likely to have weighed on Macy’s third-quarter fiscal 2023 performance. Markdowns to optimize inventory levels within the overstock categories and the possibility of an elevated promotional environment are expected to hurt margins and the bottom line. These weaknesses, coupled with any deleveraged selling, general & administrative expenses, are likely to have hit the company’s performance in the quarter under review.

On its last earnings call, management had projected net sales to be $4.75-$4.85 billion for the fiscal third quarter. It had envisioned adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of a loss of three cents per share to earnings of two cents per share for the same quarter. Management expects the gross margin to improve by at least 140 basis points year over year for the fiscal third quarter.

Despite the aforementioned headwinds, we expect Macy’s solid execution of the Polaris strategy, robust omnichannel capabilities, curated merchandise assortment, and initiatives to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience to likely have provided some cushion to the quarterly performance.
 

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model doesn’t conclusively predict an earnings beat for Macy’s this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here, as you can see below. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Macy's, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise.

Macy's, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Macy's, Inc. Quote

Macy’s currently has an Earnings ESP of -774.3% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

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