Filing update · Macy's (M)

Macy's: Bloomingdale's carries the growth, and tariff refunds carry the margin

Macy's grew second-quarter 2026 comparable sales 2.7% and raised its full-year guidance, with Bloomingdale's up 11.3% against 1.1% for the Macy's nameplate. The 180-basis-point gross margin gain came from tariff refunds; underneath, margin rose 10 basis points and adjusted EPS 14%.

Published
October 24, 2026
Data through
August 1, 2026
Latest filing used
October 23, 2026
Key numbers
Comparable sales, Q2
+2.7%
Positive at every nameplate [3]
Bloomingdale's comps
+11.3%
Its highest second-quarter sales volume [3]
Gross margin
41.5%
Up 180 bp, all of it from tariff refunds [3]
FY26 adjusted EPS guide
$2.15–2.35
Raised from $2.00–2.20 [3]
What changed

Macy's second quarter, to August 1, 2026, was its best in some time on the top line, and management raised the full-year outlook. Read closely, though, the quarter is two stories: a fast-growing Bloomingdale's and a one-off boost to margins from tariff refunds.

  • Comparable sales rose 2.7%, positive at every nameplate [3]; net sales were $4.9 billion, up 1.1% [3].
  • Bloomingdale's comparable sales rose 11.3%; the Macy's nameplate rose 1.1% [3].
  • Gross margin was 41.5%, up 180 basis points, all of it from net tariff refunds [3].
  • EPS was $0.62 on a GAAP basis and $0.63 adjusted, including a $0.23 net tariff refund benefit [3].
  • Guidance went up: fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of $2.15 to $2.35, from $2.00 to $2.20 [3].
  • Since then: on October 23 Macy's filed a report under the item for departures or appointments of directors and officers [1].
The trajectory

Comparable sales growth by nameplate over four quarters. The gap between Bloomingdale's and the Macy's nameplate has widened every quarter.

Charts: macy's, inc., bloomingdale's, macy's nameplate
Macy's, Inc.
0%1%2%3%Q3 2025: 2.5%2.5%Q3 '25Q4 2025: 1.8%Q4 '25Q1 2026: 3%Q1 '26Q2 2026: 2.7%2.7%Q2 '26
Bloomingdale's
0%5%10%15%Q3 2025: 8.8%8.8%Q3 '25Q4 2025: 9.9%Q4 '25Q1 2026: 10.2%Q1 '26Q2 2026: 11.3%11.3%Q2 '26
Macy's nameplate
0%1%2%3%Q3 2025: 1.4%1.4%Q3 '25Q4 2025: 0.4%Q4 '25Q1 2026: 1.6%Q1 '26Q2 2026: 1.1%1.1%Q2 '26

Comparable sales growth on an owned basis, as Macy's reported it for each fiscal quarter. Hover over or tab to a column for its value.

The numbers and their sources
Quarter Macy's, Inc. Bloomingdale's Macy's nameplate
Q3 2025 2.5% [9] 8.8% [9] 1.4% [9]
Q4 2025 1.8% [7] 9.9% [7] 0.4% [7]
Q1 2026 3.0% [5] 10.2% [5] 1.6% [5]
Q2 2026 2.7% [3] 11.3% [3] 1.1% [3]
Earnings with and without the refunds

The headline doubling of EPS shrinks to mid-teens growth once the tariff refunds are taken out.

Chart: Second-quarter diluted EPS
Second-quarter diluted EPS
$0.00$0.20$0.40$0.60$0.80GAAP: Q2 2025 $0.31, Q2 2026 $0.62$0.62GAAPAdjusted: Q2 2025 $0.35, Q2 2026 $0.63$0.63AdjustedAdjusted, ex refunds: Q2 2025 $0.35*, Q2 2026 $0.40*$0.40*Adjusted, ex refunds
GAAP and adjusted EPS as reported [3]. * "Adjusted, ex refunds" deducts the $0.23 net tariff refund benefit Macy's disclosed from adjusted EPS (calculated); Macy's itself describes this as adjusted EPS up 14% [3].
Show the numbers
ItemQ2 2025Q2 2026
GAAP$0.31$0.62
Adjusted$0.35$0.63
Adjusted, ex refunds$0.35*$0.40*
A higher bar for the year

Management raised both ends of its earnings range by 15 cents (calculated from [3]).

Chart: Fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance
Fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance
$0.00$1.00$2.00$3.00Low end: June 2026 guide $2.00, September 2026 guide $2.15$2.15Low endHigh end: June 2026 guide $2.20, September 2026 guide $2.35$2.35High end
As Macy's reported them [3]. About $20 million of the tariff refunds is expected to reach full-year EPS [3].
Show the numbers
ItemJune 2026 guideSeptember 2026 guide
Low end$2.00$2.15
High end$2.20$2.35
Anomalies worth a closer look

Five things in the filings that change how the headline numbers should be read.

Anomalies (5)
Two ways to read it

The same filings support two different conclusions. We set out both; this is not a view on whether to buy or sell the stock.

The two readings

The case that the turnaround is taking hold

On this reading Macy's has stabilised its core and found a growth engine in Bloomingdale's.

  1. 01
    Five straight quarters of growth
    The Macy's nameplate posted its fifth consecutive quarter of comparable sales gains, led by its Reimagine 200 stores [3].
  2. 02
    Bloomingdale's is accelerating
    Bloomingdale's comparable sales have risen from 8.8% [9] to 9.9% [7], 10.2% [5] and 11.3% [3] over four quarters.
  3. 03
    Guidance went up across the board
    Macy's raised its fiscal 2026 net sales guide to $21.675 billion to $21.825 billion and its comparable sales guide to 1.0% to 1.5% [3].
  4. 04
    Costs are under control
    SG&A fell 20 basis points to 38.7% of revenue [3].
  5. 05
    A cleaner balance sheet
    Cash rose to $1.3 billion from $0.8 billion, total debt is $2.4 billion and there are no material maturities until 2030 [3].

The case that the core is still barely growing

On this reading one-off items and a small banner are doing the work for a large, slow-growing business.

  1. 01
    Underlying margin barely moved
    Without tariff refunds, second-quarter gross margin rose just 10 basis points [3].
  2. 02
    The nameplate is near flat
    Macy's nameplate comparable sales rose 1.1% [3], after 0.4% in the fourth quarter [7].
  3. 03
    Store closures still shrink the base
    The stores closed at the end of fiscal 2024 contributed about $700 million of annual net sales [6].
  4. 04
    Tariffs are still a cost
    Third-quarter 2025 gross margin was hit by markdowns and "the flow-through of product bought under the 145% China tariffs" [8], and tariff and fuel costs were still a 10 basis point headwind this quarter [3].
  5. 05
    A flattered comparison base
    Fiscal 2025 profit included a $328 million litigation settlement [6].
Hypotheses: short, medium and long term

Testable statements, each with what would support or contradict it and when the next evidence arrives. Thresholds marked "our marker" are ours, not Macy's.

Hypotheses (3)
  1. Short termH1
    Next quarter: Q3 2026 results

    Comparable sales stay inside the raised guide

    The full-year comparable sales guide is 1.0% to 1.5% [3], after 3.0% [5] and 2.7% [3] in the first two quarters.
    What would support it
    Third-quarter comparable sales of at least 1.0% [3], with gross margin up year on year without refund benefits.
    What would contradict it
    Negative comparable sales, or gross margin down year on year once refunds are excluded.
    Next check: Q3 2026 results, likely early December 2026 (last year's came on December 3 [9]).
  2. Medium termH2
    Fiscal 2026 and into 2027

    Adjusted EPS lands in the $2.15 to $2.35 range on core earnings

    The raised guide [3] includes about $20 million of refund benefit [3].
    What would support it
    Full-year adjusted EPS inside the range, with fourth-quarter adjusted EPS up year on year without one-off items.
    What would contradict it
    A guide cut at the third quarter, or a result that only reaches the range because of refunds.
    Next check: Fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 results, likely in March 2027 (last year's came on March 18 [7]).
  3. Long termH3
    Three years and more

    Bloomingdale's and the reimagined stores outgrow the decline of the rest

    Bloomingdale's has grown comparable sales above 8% for four straight quarters (from [9] to [3]), while the Macy's nameplate grows around 1% [3].
    What would support it
    Macy's nameplate comparable sales above 2% (our marker) without further large closures, and Bloomingdale's sustaining high single digits.
    What would contradict it
    Bloomingdale's slowing to low single digits, or the nameplate turning negative again.
    Next check: Each annual report.
Risks and contrary evidence
  • Tariffs. Ongoing tariff and fuel costs were still a 10 basis point drag on gross margin [3], and last year's high China tariffs forced markdowns [8].
  • A shrinking store base. Closures have taken out about $700 million of annual net sales [6].
  • Dependence on the card program. Credit card revenues of $669 million in 2025 [6] depend on the health of consumer credit.
  • Management change. The October 23 filing on director or officer changes [1] is worth reading in full.
What would change the view
  • Third-quarter comparable sales below 1.0%, the bottom of the full-year guide [3].
  • Gross margin down year on year once tariff refunds are excluded.
  • Bloomingdale's comparable sales slowing below 5% (our marker).
Next check

Third-quarter 2026 results. Last year's came on December 3, 2025 [9], so expect the next update in early December 2026.

How this report was made

Every figure comes from Macy's own SEC filings, listed below; no market prices or third-party data were used. Statements were extracted from the filings with the help of an AI model, each quoted passage was matched against the filing text, and this report was written by Claude (Anthropic) from that evidence. Every figure was checked against the quoted filing text before publication. Figures marked "calculated" are simple arithmetic on reported numbers.

AI-Inflect screen

The deterministic screen's current reading for this company, market data through October 23, 2026. It is separate from the filing analysis above and can change daily; it is not a view on the stock. Open in AI-Inflect

Stage and setup
Stage
Early Inflection
Fundamentals
Strong
Inflection type
FCF inflection
Technical setup
Breakout attempt
Sector
Retail consumer
Condition matrix · 11 true, 6 false, 0 unknown
  • Revenue growth positiveTrue
  • Revenue growth improvingTrue
  • Revenue growth acceleratingFalse
  • Revenue zero-crossing (loss→growth)True
  • Revenue improved 2 straight qtrsFalse
  • Revenue improved 3 straight qtrsFalse
  • Revenue improved 4 straight qtrsFalse
  • EPS improvingTrue
  • EPS loss→profit crossingFalse
  • Earnings acceleratingTrue
  • Gross margin expandingFalse
  • Operating margin expandingTrue
  • Operating leverageTrue
  • FCF improvingTrue
  • FCF negative→positive crossingTrue
  • FCF margin expandingTrue
  • Cash conversion improvingTrue
Sources

Company filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

  1. [1]Current report (item 5.02, officer or director change), October 23, 2026 · Form 8-K, filed October 23, 2026 · accession 0000794367-26-000049
  2. [2]Quarterly report, quarter ended August 1, 2026 · Form 10-Q, filed September 10, 2026 · accession 0001628280-26-061320
  3. [3]Second-quarter 2026 earnings release · Form 8-K, filed September 10, 2026 · accession 0001628280-26-061217
  4. [4]Quarterly report, quarter ended May 2, 2026 · Form 10-Q, filed June 4, 2026 · accession 0001628280-26-040820
  5. [5]First-quarter 2026 earnings release · Form 8-K, filed June 3, 2026 · accession 0001628280-26-040037
  6. [6]Annual report for fiscal 2025 · Form 10-K, filed March 27, 2026 · accession 0001628280-26-021721
  7. [7]Fourth-quarter and fiscal 2025 earnings release · Form 8-K, filed March 18, 2026 · accession 0001628280-26-019024
  8. [8]Quarterly report, quarter ended November 1, 2025 · Form 10-Q, filed December 10, 2025 · accession 0001628280-25-056323
  9. [9]Third-quarter 2025 earnings release · Form 8-K, filed December 3, 2025 · accession 0001628280-25-054900

This report is general information and education, not a recommendation to buy or sell any security and not personalised financial advice. It follows our editorial principles: every figure traces to the sources above, and figures we calculated are marked as such.

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