Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren brought early tidings of holiday cheer to Wall Street yesterday, but it was old news to investors.
The iconic department store’s third-quarter sales and profits were better than expected, which “bodes well for our business as we enter the holiday selling season,” according to the dapper retail mogul. The company said full-year profits will beat some analysts’ forecasts.
Nevertheless, Macy’s shares yesterday drifted 36 cents lower, or 1.4 percent, to close at $24.86 as investors took profits on the news. The company’s stock had risen more than 12 percent during the past three weeks on a recent surge of optimism. In after-hours trading, shares fell 17 cents to $24.69.
Still, Macy’s admitted it expects fourth-quarter margins to be lower than a year ago, as it expects to take steep discounts to clear holiday merchandise.
For the most recent quarter, Macy’s said it earned $10 million, or two cents a share, versus a loss of $35 million, or 8 cents a share, a year earlier.