Macy’s Q1 comparable sales climbed 3% in the fiscal first quarter ended May 3, the best first-quarter result in four years, and the company raised its full-year guidance across sales, earnings, and comparable sales metrics.
The headline number looks better on a go-forward basis: stripping out recently closed stores, comparable sales for the Macy’s, Inc. portfolio rose 3.1%, with the 200 so-called reimagined stores the company has upgraded posting a 2.4% gain. That separation matters because the closing program has been intentionally shrinking the store count, so the go-forward figure is the cleaner read on underlying momentum.
| Metric | Q1 FY2026 | Q1 FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $4.68B (+1.8%) | $4.60B (-5.1%) |
| Comparable sales (go-forward) | +3.1% | -1.2% |
| Bloomingdale’s comp sales | +10.2% (record Q1) | N/A |
| Adjusted EPS | $0.13 | N/A |
| Net income | $63M | $38M |
The Bloomingdale’s Factor
Bloomingdale’s posted record first-quarter sales, with comparable sales up 10.2%. CEO Tony Spring pointed to a combination of high-energy brand curation, what he called a “fun factor” rare in the luxury segment, and the bankruptcy filing of rival Saks Fifth Avenue as tailwinds. Spring was careful not to over-credit the competitive disruption. “Is the disruption in the marketplace helpful to us? Sure. Is it the primary reason we’re growing? No,” he told CNBC.
The Macy’s nameplate itself grew comparable sales 1.6%, a quieter number but a meaningful reversal. A year ago, Macy’s Q1 2025 results showed comparable sales down 2.0% on an owned basis and net sales falling 5.1% to $4.6 billion. The swing from that baseline to the current print reflects about two years of store investment, staffing improvements, and tighter merchandise selection.
Macy’s Q1 Comparable Sales in Context
The turnaround Spring has led since taking the CEO role roughly two years ago centers on retail basics rather than technology bets or format reinvention. Better staffing levels, stores people want to spend time in, and product customers actually want. Spring kept the framing plain: “We’re not doing the fancy stuff, we’re doing the stuff that makes the biggest difference in the business.”
That approach sits against a shakier backdrop. Higher gas prices tied to Middle East tensions and the fading of last year’s unusually large tax refunds are the two macro factors most retailers flagged this reporting season as potential second-quarter headwinds. Spring acknowledged tax refunds “definitely” helped, but said Macy’s Q1 comparable sales trends have continued into the early weeks of Q2, which gave the company confidence to raise its full-year outlook rather than hold steady.
The guidance revision is the part that moves the stock. When Macy’s posted fiscal year 2025 full results, the company set its initial FY2026 outlook at net sales of $21.4 billion to $21.65 billion, comparable sales of -0.5% to +0.5%, and adjusted diluted EPS of $1.90 to $2.10. That initial guidance baseline was already conservative, shaped by tariff uncertainty and caution about discretionary spending.
Raised Guidance and What Comes Next
The new full-year range lifts the floor on all three measures. Net sales guidance moves to $21.5 billion to $21.75 billion. Comparable sales are now expected to grow 0.5% to 1.2%, versus the prior range of a 0.5% decline to a 0.5% gain. Adjusted EPS guidance rises to $2.00 to $2.20.
The Q1 10-Q filed with the SEC covers the period ending May 3, 2025. Shares rose more than 2% in premarket trading Wednesday. The full-year fiscal 2025 baseline for comparison was net sales of $21.8 billion, so the new guidance implies a modest year-over-year revenue decline at the midpoint, even with the comparable sales improvement, reflecting planned store closures continuing to weigh on the top line.
Spring said breadth across categories and all three nameplates (Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury) looked solid entering Q2. The next hard test is whether that momentum holds once the tax refund boost fully rolls off. If the reimagined stores keep posting positive comps without that tailwind, the turnaround thesis becomes harder to dismiss.
