Macy's (NYSE:M) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Wednesday. Read the complete transcript below.
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Summary
Macy's Inc. reported strong first-quarter 2026 results with net sales growth of 1.8% to $4.7 billion, exceeding guidance. Adjusted EPS was $0.13, above the expected range.
The company's strategic 'bold new chapter' initiatives are gaining traction, with significant improvements seen in comparable sales across Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Bluemercury.
Future guidance was raised, reflecting better-than-expected performance, with an anticipated full-year net sales of $21.5 to $21.75 billion and adjusted diluted EPS of $2 to $2.10.
Operational highlights included the expansion of Macy's reimagined locations to 200, contributing to positive sales, and the introduction of new brands like Rothy's and Ted Baker.
Management emphasized the resilience of the Macy's Inc. customer base, effective expense management, and ongoing AI investments to enhance operations and customer experiences.
Full Transcript
OPERATOR
Greetings and welcome to The Macy's Inc. First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. this time, all participants are on a listen only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press Star0 on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Pamela Quintigliano, VP of Investor Relations. Pamela, please go ahead.
Pamela Quintigliano (VP of Investor Relations)
Thank you operator. Good morning everyone and thanks for joining us. With me on the call today are Tony Spring, our chairman and CEO, and Tom Edwards, our COO and CFO. Along with our first quarter 2026 press release, a Form 8K has been filed and with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a presentation has been posted on the Investor section of our website, macysinc.com. and is being displayed live during today's webcast. Unless otherwise noted, the comparisons we provide will be versus 2025.
All references to our prior expectations, outlook or guidance refer to information provided on our March 18th earnings call. On today's call, we will refer to certain non GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these measures can be found in our earnings presentation and SEC Filings available at www.macysinc.com. investors. All references to comparable sales throughout today's prepared remarks represent comparable owned plus Licensed plus Marketplace sales.
Unless otherwise noted, all reported nameplate comparable sales results are on a Go Forward basis. Go Forward Macy's Inc. Comp sales include the approximately 350 Macy's Go Forward locations in digital and Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury nameplates, inclusive of stores in digital. Go Forward Macy's nameplate comparable sales include the approximately 350 Macy's go forward locations and Macy's Digital Go Forward Bloomingdale's and Go Forward bluemercury Comp sales include all store locations in digital.
As a reminder, on February 18th we announced an update to our non GAAP financial disclosures, the details of which are available in a Form 8K. These changes do not impact our historical or future GAAP metrics and disclosures. The updated disclosures, which encompass comparable sales, OLM dollar sales, revenues and non GAAP earnings, are intended to both simplify disclosures and provide increased clarity on the key metrics that support our growth profile and Go Forward operating performance.
Beginning this quarter, adjusted earnings metrics reflect our new non GAAP metrics. All forward looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform act of 1995. These forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations and assumptions mentioned today. A detailed discussion of these factors and uncertainties is contained in our filings with the sec.
Today's call is being webcast on our website. A replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of this call. With that, I'll turn it over to Tony.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thank you. Pam Good morning and thank you for joining us today. I'm pleased with the strong start to the year. Our bold new chapter initiatives continue to gain momentum. In the first quarter we delivered enterprise wide growth better than expected performance across all key metrics and our best comparable sales in four years. With all nameplates and channels positive. These broad based operational and financial improvements reflect the strength and viability of the bold new chapter strategy.
Our customer led focus is resonating and driving tangible results. Macy's Inc. Net sales comparable sales, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted diluted EPS all exceeded our guidance. Macy's nameplate delivered its fourth consecutive quarter of positive comps led by our reimagined 200 locations. Bloomingdale's achieved double digit comps and its best first quarter sales volume on record and Bluemercury also delivered another quarter of comparable sales growth.
I want to take a moment to thank our colleagues. Their dedication to the bold new chapter strategy and consistent focus on our customer are integral to the progress we're making through strong cross functional collaboration. We continue to learn from each other without becoming one another. Our results reflect the progress we're making on each pillar of the bold new chapter strategy. Macy's Inc. Delivered 3% Comparable sales growth representing our strongest first quarter since 2022 with go forward Macy's Inc.
Rising 3.1%. Adjusted EPS of 13 cents was well above the high end of our guidance on stronger sales and expense management. Now let's discuss each pillar of the strategy beginning with strengthening and reimagining Macy's Macy's nameplate achieved positive 1.6% comparable sales with reimagined locations growing 2.4%. We are encouraged by the reimagined performance which have delivered positive comparable sales in eight of the last nine quarters. During the first quarter we expanded learnings to an additional 75 locations bringing the reimagined base to 200.
As a reminder, these locations account for nearly 60% of our Go Forward Macy's stores and were about 75% of our fiscal 2025 Go Forward Macy's store sales. And while we achieved our highest first quarter Macy's Nameplate net promoter score on record, the reimagined locations continue to score even higher. Digital also contributed to positive comparable sales results. Our improved digital experience reflects the foundational platform improvements we have implemented over the last several years and is supported by our store and brand initiatives.
At the same time, our curated marketplace is further enhancing our fashion authority position by complementing and expanding our category and brand matrix. During the quarter we introduced Ask Macy's, our new AI powered conversational shopping assistant. Shaped by data and insights from thousands of colleagues, Ask Macy's creates a connected customer journey. It serves as a starting point for discovery across channels and helps deliver the best Macy's at every touch point.
Although early days initial response has been favorable, as a multi brand, multi category and multi generational retailer, we are uniquely positioned to provide inspiration for our customers everyday moments, holidays, events and everything in between. Across both stores and digital, we are benefiting from the optimization refinement of our merchandise strategy. We have made strides in modernizing our assortments and improving curation. Our point of view across best, better and good price points classifications has become more clearly defined and we're showing up with increased conviction.
With our strong and stable balance sheet, large addressable market, loyal customer base and steadily improving results, we are gaining market interest. We are continuously working to improve our brand matrix, reduce product redundancies and offer more fashion. During the first quarter we introduced several new brands including Rothy's, Donna Karan Weekend and Ted Baker Men's. In addition, we expanded Abercrombie Kids offerings to infants and toddlers and further expanded the store distribution of Wreaths, Free People Theory and Rod and Gun.
Looking at category performance watches, petites, dresses, women's career, kids, handbags, fragrances and shoes all outperformed. We did see some softer trends including big ticket home, especially furniture and our plus size business. Overall, our Macy's customers have noticed the positive changes across product messaging and experience and as we look ahead, I am confident we have the right initiatives in place to deliver long term profitable growth.
Turning to the second pillar of the builder chapter strategy, Accelerating and differentiating luxury, Bloomingdale's achieved a positive 10.2% comp and its highest first quarter sales in its 154 year history. Our premium contemporary to luxury positioning is unique enabling us to capture and maintain customer interest through matrix elevation. New brand additions, a vibrant shopping environment including collaborations, activations and personalized customer service, we are providing a compelling and distinct experience.
Recent strength has been broad based with powerful growth in each channel. Performance is anchored on multiple strategic levers and we're confident that we can continue to expand share of wallet on a brand by brand, location by location and category by category basis. Looking at the first quarter Ready to wear Men's Apparel, Fine jewelry, Shoes, Tabletop all outperformed. We expanded the reach of our very important client program which caters to our highest vendors and see ongoing growth opportunity with this customer.
We also hosted our newest campaign California Love which featured California inspired events, animation and brand exclusives. The campaign served as a strong driver of traffic and customer engagement and generated meaningful editorial media coverage. We introduced several new luxury brands including Chloe Ready to Wear, Isabel Marant, Phoebe, Filo Park Denim Heirloom and Kate Shoes. These brands complement our existing luxury matrix, generating incremental sales among our loyal, multi generational customer base as well as attracting new clients.
Potential and existing partners appreciate the transformational journey we're on which gives them the confidence to enter and expand their distribution at Bloomingdale's. Congratulations to the team on further reinforcing Bloomingdale's status as a leading modern luxury shopping destination. Rounding out the conversation on luxury Bluemercury Comparable sales growth accelerated to 6.4% the Bluemercury customer closely aligns with the Bloomingdale shopper.
She appreciates Bluemercury's intimate, relaxing and customer service oriented environment and knowledgeable colleagues. During the quarter, results were driven by makeup, dermatological, skin care and fragrances including Byredo and Parfum de Marly as well as Dr. Diamond's Medicine and SkinCeuticals. New and remodeled stores remained outperformers. Turning to the final pillar of our strategy, simplifying and modernizing end to end operations. We recently expanded its scope to incorporate optimizing and scaling enterprise wide organizational excellence which we believe more accurately reflects our model and innovation capabilities.
This pillar supports revenue growth and customer experience enhancements and is driving efficiencies. We've been testing, refining and implementing initiatives including AI and believe there are meaningful opportunities to better serve our customers and support our colleagues. Now I'd like to discuss our thoughts on the consumer and our outlook. The Macy's Inc. Customer who is predominantly middle to upper income remained resilient in the first quarter.
We found that when the product and the experience are differentiated and compelling, engagement and spend increase during the quarter, our customer appreciated the assortments, marketing and events that supported key holidays including Valentine's Day, President's Day and Easter. In the second quarter, we have continued to actively engage with our customer. We expanded our immersive Macy's Flower show from Herald Square to our State street location in Chicago.
This event served as a strong traffic driver, drawing 800,000 customers to those stores and generating significant media coverage. At Bloomingdale's, the TV show Margo's Got Money Troubles has pushed us further into
the cultural zeitgeist by declaring there are no victims in Bloomingdale's, a line that has gained momentum. We quickly leverage that powerful statement across both social and experiential activations. 2026 is our year of celebration and it's our country's 250th anniversary. In just about a month we will host one of our signature events, the 50th anniversary of the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks, our biggest yet. And later in the year we'll host our 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
And we have a new partnership with Live Nation and Major League Baseball designed to help our customers celebrate the summer across amphitheaters and stadiums nationwide. We will be powering fan first experiences from moment before inspiration and in venue surprises to celebration nights, sweepstakes and rewards. We're also hosting a series of unique World cup events. At Macy's, we have transformed the mezzanine at Herald Square to an immersive and engaging World cup experience with customer activations and official merchandise from Adidas, Nike Lids and more.
And at Bloomingdale's 59th street, we'll have a Hugo Boss David Beckham collaboration that includes a personal appearance from the soccer star himself. Between our recent results and upcoming celebrations, there's a lot to be excited about. Now turning to our guidance, we are committed to building on the momentum and remain focused on the factors that are within our control. We are pleased with our second quarter performance to date and are raising our full year outlook.
Our updated guidance incorporates better than expected first quarter top line and bottom line results as well as a modest increase in sales for the remaining quarters. Recognizing macroeconomic and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, guidance provides flexibility to respond to potential changes in the competitive landscape and consumer demand. In closing, I am encouraged by the team's strong execution and our results. Customers are responding to our curated product assortments, focused service, targeted messaging and traffic driving promotions and events.
This is supported by an improved end to end omnichannel experience and with five
consecutive quarters of better than expected top line and bottom line results, four consecutive quarters of comparable sales growth and ongoing positive reimagined comps. I am confident that the bold new chapter initiatives have firmly laid the foundation for sustainable, profitable growth and long term shareholder value creation. With that, let me turn it over
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
to Tom thank you Tony and good morning everyone. In the first quarter the Bold New Chapter continued to gain traction across all three pillars of our strategy. Both top and bottom line results were well above guidance. We benefited from our strongest first quarter comparable sales results in four years, delivered net sales growth for the first time since emerging from the pandemic and achieved better than expected results across key income statement metrics.
Our progress is fueled by the dedication and commitment of our teams and partners. The substantive enterprise wide improvements we are making are resonating and our customers are responding. Looking at a detailed view of the quarter beginning with Macy's Inc. Net sales grew 1.8% to $4.7 billion. Results were above guidance of 4.575 to 4.625 billion and compared to 4.6 billion last year. Excluding a roughly 40 million impact from the 14 non go forward store closures at the end of last year, net sales grew 2.7%.
Comparable sales on a reported basis rose 3% versus guidance of 0.5 to 1.5% and negative 2% last year. Go Forward comps grew 3.1%. By nameplate, Macy's comparable sales rose 1.6%. We continue to be encouraged by the performance of the reimagined locations which grew 2.4%. Bloomingdale's comparable sales were up 10.2% and Bluemercury comparable sales increased 6.4%. Total revenue rose 2.1% to $4.9 billion. Other revenue which includes credit card and Macy's media Network was $210 million up 8% versus last year.
Within that, credit card revenue was $172 million up 12% versus last year. Reflecting our continued healthy credit portfolio and prudent management of card losses. Macy's Media Network revenue was 38 million 5% below last year reflecting the timing of advertising spend. On a year over year basis, Gross margin was 1.8 billion or 38.9% of net sales compared to 39.2% last year. Excluding an approximately 30 basis point tariff impact, gross margin rate would have been even with last year.
SGA rate of 39.9% was better than our expectations and was flat with last year. SGA dollars of 1.95 billion were in line with our expectations despite higher sales and compared to 1.91 billion last year. SGA reflects investments in bold new chapter initiatives to drive growth, partially offset by our always on approach to expense savings. Adjusted EBITDA was 290 million or 5.9% of total revenue. This exceeded the high end of our guidance range of 4.9 to 5.1% and compared to 304 million or 6.3% of total revenue last year.
Adjusted EPS of 13 cents was above the high end of our guidance range for a loss of $0.01 to a gain of $0.01. Results reflect a roughly $0.04 tariff impact. Our disciplined approach to cash flow and balance sheet management continues to support our strong financial position. During the first quarter, operating cash flow was an inflow of 292 million versus an outflow of 64 million last year and free cash flow was an inflow of 140 million versus an outflow of 203 million last year.
End of quarter inventory dollars were up 3.6% compared to last year in line with our expectations and comp sales growth. We are well positioned for summer with increased newness across price points and lower aged inventories. Relative to last year, Capital expenditures were $177 million which were flat to the prior year period. Monetization proceeds were 25 million compared to 38 million last year. In the first quarter we returned $100 million to shareholders through $50 million of quarterly cash dividends and $50 million of share repurchases, leaving approximately $1.1 billion remaining on our buyback authorization and we ended the quarter with
$1.3 billion of cash on our balance sheet compared to $932 million last year. Now I'd like to provide an update on our end to end initiatives. We continue to make meaningful progress, modernizing our operations and improving effectiveness. Our China Grove distribution facility is ramping nicely. We are realizing the early benefits of automation in both service levels and cost efficiencies and expect ongoing progress as we build capacity for Holiday.
From an organizational point of view, we are leveraging AI including evaluating several inventory forecasting and management initiatives to further improve our ability to meet customer needs. Looking ahead, we are confident we can build on these and other initiatives across the enterprise and find new areas of opportunity. Moving to Guidance we entered the second quarter with relevant new products supported by compelling marketing, visual presentation and events.
We are encouraged by quarter to date results but still have the majority of sales volume ahead. Consistent with our past practice, we are taking a prudent approach to quarterly and annual guidance, giving ourselves the flexibility to respond to changes in the competitive landscape and macroeconomic and ongoing geopolitical unknowns. For the full year. We are raising our outlook to incorporate better than expected first quarter top and bottom line results.
In addition, we are modestly increasing our sales for the remaining quarters. Our full year guidance also reflects updated tariff and fuel assumptions for tariffs. Our guidance now reflects current rates which are lower than our previous assumptions for fuel and transportation costs. We are factoring in elevated levels based on what we know today. The estimated impact of lower tariffs and higher fuel costs is net neutral for the fiscal year. We will continue to closely monitor developments as the environment evolves regarding tariff refunds.
While we are seeking refunds, the timing and amounts remain uncertain. As such, any potential benefit is not incorporated in our outlook. Looking at second quarter guidance, we expect net sales of approximately 4.75 to 4.8 billion. Last year's store closures contributed about 35 million to sales in the comparable period. Comparable sales to be Approximately flat to up 1%, adjusted EBITDA as a percent of total revenue of 6.9 to 7.2% and adjusted diluted EPS of 29 to 34 cents.
Tariffs and fuel costs combined are expected to have a roughly 3 to 4 cent negative impact to EPS and a 20 to 40 basis point negative impact to gross margin for the full year. We now expect net sales of approximately 21.5 to 21.75 billion. Fiscal 2025 store closures contribute roughly 145 million to net sales in the comparable period. Comparable sales to be approximately up 0.5 to up 1.2%. Other revenue of approximately 920 million, gross margin as a percent of net sales to be 38.4 to 38.6% reflecting a roughly 20 to 30 basis point negative impact from tariffs and fuel SGA to be up 1 to 2% on a dollar basis compared to last year with the rate
roughly in line with prior year in the second and fourth quarters and above in the third quarter reflecting timing of investments to fund growth, adjusted EBITDA as a percent of total revenue of 7.7 to 7.9%, interest expense of roughly 100 million and adjusted diluted EPS of $2 to $2 which assumes a roughly 10 to 20 cent combined tariff rate and fuel cost impact. In closing, it's an exciting time at Macy's Inc. We have a clear strategy in place and the discipline and financial strength to execute.
We are taking our learnings to refine and fortify each pillar of the bold new chapter. As I look to our future, I am confident we have the right foundational initiatives in place to drive long term success, sustainable profitable growth and deliver compelling value to our shareholders. Now let me turn the call back to Tony for closing remarks.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks so much Tom. We're now in the third year of our bold new chapter. And while there's still more work to be done, our strategy is delivering results. Initiatives are continuing to gain traction across all three pillars. We have returned to top line growth while continuing to provide value to shareholders through our dividend and stock buyback programs. As we look ahead, our strong balance sheet and cash flow generation support the necessary investments to fuel long term profitable growth.
I'm encouraged by the progress made, confident in the strategy, and excited for our future. And with that operator we're now ready for questions.
OPERATOR
Thank you. The floor is now open for questions. If you would like to ask a question, please press Star one on your telephone keypad at this time. A confirmation tone will indicate that your line is in the question queue. You may press Star two if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up the handset before pressing the star keys.
We do ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one follow up. Again, that is Star one to register a question at this time. Our first question today is coming from Blake Anderson of Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Blake Anderson (Equity Analyst)
Good morning. Congrats on a great quarter. So I wanted to start off with the comp. Can you talk about what you're seeing most recently there any commentary you can provide on kind of how the comp was throughout the quarter and then what you're seeing most recently versus your guide?
I know there's some moving pieces with the macro in terms of gas prices and tax refunds, but kind of any update on what you're seeing most recently in your ability to deliver upside in Q2? And then with the updated guide kind of it seems like it implies maybe flat comps in the second half. How do you feel about your ability to continue to generate positive comps into the second half as well?
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks Blake. Good to talk to you. Yeah, we're pleased with the second quarter performance to date. Very consistent performance throughout the first quarter. There were no vagaries between one month to the next and you know, we really comment on the entire quarter. Just glad to see the consistency of the business across all three nameplates and the consistency of the business across multiple categories of business.
To see the dress business, the women's career business, the kids business, the watch business, the women's shoe business, the men's shoe business. There are so many categories that are trending healthy right now that I'm cautiously optimistic about our ability to continue to drive our performance.
We obviously have a prudent guide relative to the geopolitical and macroeconomic factors, but the things that are within our control we feel really good about. I'll let Tom comment on the guide for the back half of the year.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Thanks Tony. The Guide for the Back Half of
the Year Blake, we're really pleased to have raised our overall guidance for the year on comp sales, really reflecting the Q1 over delivery as well as additional sales through the rest of the year which includes the back half. So as we're around a flat implied comp for that, it's really benchmarked against stack comps. But what it means is our bold new chapter is going to continue to deliver. We're going to continue to execute against it. We're heading into the second quarter with good inventories, much newness, so very excited about the future and continuing to deliver for the consumer in the second half of the year.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Yeah, Blake and I just end with we look at the 2 year 3 year stack and we don't want to end up with a hockey stick in the fall. So we want to make sure that we have the opportunity to not only continue our performance but give ourselves the opportunity to navigate the things we don't know right now.
Blake Anderson (Equity Analyst)
That makes sense and very helpful. And then if I could ask a longer term question. As part of your bold new chapter strategy you laid out medium term targets of sales growth with mid single digit EBITDA growth and given now there are a lot of moving pieces with tariffs fuel your store closures. I was just wondering Tom if you could update us on the underlying business.
How do you feel about your confidence and visibility for margin expansion over the medium term and what would be the factors that are in your control you feel most that can drive upside?
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
I feel really confident Blake about our opportunity to grow the business and to deliver long term profitable growth. And I'd start by saying that we are already delivering that growth in Q1. EPS was up versus prior year. We provided some additional new metrics earlier this year that showed last year we were delivering growth excluding tariffs on the
bottom line as well as ebitda. So we feel good about our opportunities. And the other thing I'd point out is in Q1 as we over deliver revenue it drops to the bottom line so we can show how we can flow through. We have opportunities on gross margin to continue to improve assortment, add new brands, manage inventory with many new initiatives and continue to deliver excellent customer experience. And on SGA we'll continue to lever that and invest with rigor to drive the top line.
Blake Anderson (Equity Analyst)
Great. Thanks so much.
OPERATOR
Thank You. Our next question is coming from Matthew Boss of JPMorgan. Please go ahead.
Matthew Boss (Equity Analyst)
Thanks and congrats on a very nice quarter.
Thanks. Matt, two questions. So Tony, could you elaborate on the cross functional collaboration that you cited that's happening between Macy's and Bloomingdale's? Really how you think this has impacted results to date and the opportunities that you think it provides maybe relative to the underlying bold new chapter plan. And then Tom, could you speak to the drivers of gross margin versus plan in the first quarter and then the underlying build to get to the 40 to 60 basis points of expansion for the year as we think about the second quarter versus back half.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks Matt. Yeah, we've got healthier cross collaboration. Some is obviously having spent 35, 36 years at Bloomingdale's and coming to Macy's and building bridges in terms of talent between the two brands. Making sure that in our reporting we are looking at the business in a comparable fashion and trying to better understand underlying trends, geographic trends, sharing where we see brand opportunities, where things overlap and as you know, at the same time making sure that we can learn from each other without becoming one another.
I have every intention of making sure that we preserve the specialness and uniqueness of Bloomingdale's and build on the 10.2% comp growth they had in the first quarter and at the same time make Macy's more fashionable. Make sure that we are editing out brands and styles and redundancies within our assortment as we flow new brands into the Macy's architecture that include Theory and Rod and gun and free people and more to come. Because I think that there is this opportunity with 38 million people shopping at Bloomingdale's at Macy's and 4 million people shopping at Bloomingdale's that we can have our cake and eat it too.
We can absolutely be better collaboratively and at the same time make sure that we have the distinction that's necessary for both brands.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
And Matt, with regard to Gross margin in Q1 excluding tariffs, our gross margin was flat to prior year. And just look at what we said in Q4 and giving guidance to be down in Q1 and then build over the course of the year. We still expect that build and what's driving it for the year is multiple factors. We're expanding our reimagined program from 125 to 200 that's already delivering results. Expect to see that continue. We expect to drive regular price sell through through multiple initiatives including the reimagine how we are managing inventory on A day to day, month to month basis, leveraging areas like hold and flow that have been working so
well in the past and using new forecasting tools which we're exploring as part of our AI initiatives on how we both forecast demand and replenishment. So there's a number of underlying factors here that are helping support our long term business.
Matthew Boss (Equity Analyst)
Great color. Best of luck.
Brooke Roach (Equity Analyst)
Thanks, Matt. Thank you. Our next question is coming from Brooke Roach of Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead. Good morning and thank you for taking our question. Tony, can you speak to the drivers of the comp acceleration that you're seeing across banner? What proportion of the comp gains that you're seeing are driven by traffic versus tickets? And within that, what are you seeing in aur?
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks, Brooke. We are seeing continued AUR growth and consistent traffic and I think we're balancing the improvements in AUR with slight reduction in conversion but still an overall basket size increase. So more customers shopping, people being choiceful as they look at the value equation between prices and categories. But overall architected by Macy's and Bloomingdale's, we think there's tremendous opportunity to make sure that the range of our price points across both banners makes sense relative to the types of consumers that we're catering to.
So we want best, better, good across the pyramid. We also will see AUR expansion where
we're selling more expensive materials. So that could be leather versus vegan leather, that could be linen versus cotton. And so we have really challenged our teams to make sure that we are not undershooting the customer. We are embracing the best of what is happening in fashion, that we are making sure that our assortment architecture has the right variety necessary to attract as many consumers as possible. While at the same time we've got our off price offering backstage at Macy's and the outlet store at Bloomingdale's.
So we feel like we've got on the barbell, we're catering to it in an effective manner.
Brooke Roach (Equity Analyst)
And Brooke, I'd add that we've been seeing this algorithm higher AUR consistent traffic and higher basket size over multiple quarters for a very long period of time. So it's one we want to drive going forward and support our long term goals to grow.
Great. And then just a follow up for Tom. Can you quantify the size of the headwind to the business that you're currently seeing from higher fuel costs? How are you thinking about the resiliency of your business if oil prices continued to rise into the back half of the year?
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Sure, Brooke, I'm happy to. For fuel costs, we expect them to be a full year headwind of about 10 to 20 basis points. And that's on a fuel EPS up to 15 cents, from about 5 to 15 cents. And we're incorporating in our outlook what we see is the current view of fuel and it is offset by lower tariffs. So for the year, we're in net neutral as we have incorporated lower tariff rates, which are, by the way, in line with the tariffs that were announced as potentially coming into play later this year.
So we feel like we're well positioned there. And then we'll continue to monitor this closely on both fronts, tariff and fuel, but feel appropriately for what we know now incorporated in our forecast.
Brooke Roach (Equity Analyst)
Great. Thanks so much. I'll pass it on.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Thanks, Brooke.
OPERATOR
Thank you. Our next question is coming from Dana Telsey of Telsey Advisory Group. Please go ahead.
Dana Telsey (Equity Analyst)
Hi, good morning and nice to see the progress. Bloomingdale's looks terrific! 59th Street. You just got the new Prada shoe department or the new installation.
It looks great on the reimagined Macy's stores! While it was up 0.9% in Q4, accelerated to 2.4% in Q1. What are you seeing in the acceleration? And given the major events that are taking place like the 250 where you do the huge fireworks and all, how should we be thinking about marketing spend go forward? And then, Tony, how do you think about the promotional environment and what you've seen out there? Thank you.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks, Dana. I agree. I think the Prada shoe installation at 59th street looks outstanding. We're excited about the Reimagine 200 program. It's eight of nine quarters of growth. With the reimagine stores. We got all cohorts growing. We're seeing growth across multiple categories. What I love about the program is it's a recipe. It's not one idea. It's the merchandise. It's a better assortment. It's the presentation. It's better storytelling.
It's more people in the stores. It's better service. Record Net promoter scores even higher in the reimagined stores. It's service in the fitting room. It's service in the beauty department when people sit down in a chair and decide on what their beauty regimen is.
So what I love is this last ingredient, which we've added in the last six to 12 months, which is local empowerment, giving our local leaders the opportunity to allocate the resources a little more effectively by floor and by area, as well as add in the local ingredients that really allow us to be this national retailer that executes much more effectively on a local basis. I think marketing spend continues to be consistent.
I think what we're working on is the right balance between top of funnel and bottom of funnel or what we're doing to kind of tell the story about the brands we sell and the fashion that we sell and the brand Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Blue Mercury and how we convert in store and online with the right level of search marketing investment. Tom, what would you add?
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
I'd add on the reimagined stores, we're very pleased with how they're performing and it's a great example of us investing in the business to drive growth and generating good returns on that. We have followed each tranche and seen how they have improved at the top line as well as the bottom line over time and pleased with how they are progressing going forward.
We always look to be good stewards of capital and returns and feel these are great investments to improve our customer experience and drive the top line.
Dana Telsey (Equity Analyst)
Thank you. And any update on the promotional environment what you're seeing, Dana?
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
I don't see any significant changes. Normally there needs to be a bigger glut of inventory and a significant change in consumer demand before you see the kind of causal effects of promotion. Right now it's a very comparable promotional environment to what we've seen over the past several years.
OPERATOR
Thank you. Thank you. Our next question is coming from Paul Leggway of Citigroup. Please go ahead.
Tracy Kogan
Thanks. It's Tracy Kogan filling in for Paul. I just wanted to clarify one thing first. I think you said you see consistent traffic and I just wanted to clarify if that meant traffic is flat or do you mean it was down or up consistent with 4Q?
And then my second question is just on your credit portfolio, I think you mentioned that it was healthy, but I was wondering if you were seeing any signs in bad debts or payment trends that show any strain from the consumer. Thanks.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Thanks for the questions, Tracy. Regarding traffic, we saw it improve sequentially and as Tony mentioned, it's been fairly consistent over time with AUR and basket size being the primary driver. Regarding the credit revenue, our credit first is a very important part of our overall Macy's ecosystem. It fits into our loyalty program and it helps us understand how over 70% of our customers are spending and engaging with us over time.
So it has a very broad meaning overall. And what we saw in the quarter was 12% growth and that was driven by the health of our credit portfolio and a reduction in net credit losses. So we have a very strong credit environment in our portfolio and we'll be monitoring going forward to make sure we're taking care of that credit. Looking at the remainder of the year and ongoing. We expect the credit card business to grow at the rate of the overall business.
And we have many initiatives in place to drive both new cardholder acquisition and increased card usage.
Tracy Kogan
Thank you.
OPERATOR
Thank you. Our next question is coming from Michael Binetti of Evercore isi. Please go ahead.
Michael Binetti (Equity Analyst)
Hey guys, congrats on a great quarter. Let me ask you about the AUR I saw in the presentation. It was up 8.3%. That's a really big acceleration, about 400 basis points from the prior quarter. If I'm looking at like for like numbers and we haven't seen a level like that in a while. I first just love to see see if you could talk a little bit about a little more specifically about what areas of the business drove that in the quarter.
And then Tom, I have to ask what you know, what do you think explains the gross margin flat excluding tariffs at that level of AUR improvement? I think those two are usually a little more linked for you guys. I'm trying to think about how we should think about that as we go forward in our models here.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks for the question, Mike. The AUR has been growing for the last couple of years at both brands. It's both a mix of business. As I was saying before the different fabrication, the categories we're selling, more jackets versus T shirts, the introduction of linen versus cotton, the breadth of brands that we're selling, Sam Edelman versus the size of our private brand business today. So some is the construct of our assortments is just different.
It's evolving. There is more in the best bucket than in the better or the good bucket. And that's going to continue to allow us to increase the AUR. The AUR of the Macy's brand was more 5 and change. The AUR of the Bloomingdale's brand was, you know, in the 9, 10% range. So you have a slight difference between the two brands that that blends to the 8 and change. But I would see that we still have opportunity.
We have less clearance than we had a year ago. Less aged goods. That also gets you the back end benefit of better AUR because you're not selling as much clearance. But we are going to continue to monitor the right levels of inventory in each of the price buckets to make sure that we're capitalizing on where we see the demand.
I would tell you in the past we were a little hesitant on the higher AUR product to be in stock and to give more distribution to our stores. I think we're trying to find the right balance of not undershooting the customer.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
And I'll add on the gross margin versus AUR Q1 first was in line with our expectations being flat, excluding tariffs. And it's really a mix of business around channel and product. Importantly, Michael, we have a line of sight to how gross margin will continue to expand over the remainder of the year and build as we move through the year.
Michael Binetti (Equity Analyst)
Okay, thanks for the detail there. And then if I could just ask a quick follow up on beauty. Great, great comp out of Blue Mercury is can we get a sense of how much beauty was up across the total business? Is it your sense that the category is improving or is this just all execution at Blue Mercury something you you did that you felt particularly strong about?
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
I think, Mike, it's the combination of brands and service. And I think all three of our brands are full service beauty experiences. And when we have enough newness, there was a lot of newness in skin care, there was a lot of newness in fragrances. It's going to bode well for our total beauty business.
And then we are doubling down on the beauty experience via our beauty advisors, making sure we're giving a level of experience that people say that's better than self service. That gives me a reason to kind of go to the department store. Whether it's samples, whether it's a gift with purchase, whether it's someone who allows me to shop across brands.
We're working to make sure that we're building on the sizable beauty business that we have at all three brands.
Michael Binetti (Equity Analyst)
Thanks a lot for the detail, guys. Congrats again.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Thanks, Mike.
OPERATOR
Thank you. Our next question is coming from Chuck Grom of Gordon Haskett. Please go ahead.
Ryan Bulger
Hey guys, this is Ryan Bulger on for Chuck here. I wanted to ask about the Delta between the Macy's go forward at 1.6 and then the reimagined 200 at 2.4 and just kind of underlying drivers there and what you'd expect to see on that going forward. Thank you.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Sure. The reimagined store, as we said, it's about 60% of our store base. About 75% of the sales based on 2025 Macy's store sales. You have the 1.4% is the Macy's comp number inclusive of all the Macy's stores. So the 14 to the 16 is the real difference. And the Reimagined stores have the additional investments. And so whether that be staffing, whether that be additional brands, whether that be the additional visual enhancements. And so we're monitoring that carefully because, you know, we view that 2 to 3% growth as being very important to the overall architecture of our planning strategy going forward.
And we love seeing the reimagined stores growing across all the cohorts and seeing the consumer respond across geographies to the changes that we're making in the Macy's nameplate.
Ryan Bulger
Great, thanks.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Thanks, Ryan.
OPERATOR
Thank you. The next question is coming from Bob Drubal of btig. Please go ahead.
Bob Drubal
Hi, good morning. I guess I'm curious to see as
you look into the second quarter and you know you mentioned some of your World cup initiatives, do you think that's going to be a big driver to any of your big geographies?
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Well, we've invested in the active category and partnership with Nike and with Adidas and to a smaller degree with Puma in creating a reason to come to the store, a reason to shop. We'll have personal appearances at both Macy's and Bloomingdale's, not just in our flagship stores, but in our local stores as well.
I think these events, just like prom or Valentine's Day, kind of give the reason for the consumer to kind of come into the store vote by being a part of something that's happening in the country. And we view World cup as just something that people are excited about.
The same way if you're in New York, you're excited about the Knicks right now or if you're watching hopefully the fourth of July fireworks, you're going to be excited seeing the fact that we have fireworks on both the west side and the east side this year. We as a retailer, we have a responsibility to kind of give people a reason to buy, to bring in the animation to add kind of more than just a need based purchase. This is an emotional business.
And so to me it's fun to see all the sports teams, it's fun to see the activations and young kids all the way up to dads and moms looking to be a part of the celebration of World Cup.
Bob Drubal
Great, thank you. And I guess just could you spend a few minutes just on the Ask Macy's the AI utilization and sort of what you're seeing there throughout the business.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Sure, Bob. Early days, you know, we're learning as we go. What I love seeing is the higher conversion rate for the people that are engaging with Ask Macy's because it's giving people a better prompt driven response to the search that they're looking to complete. We're also trying to use Ask Macy's as a foundational way to help educate more of our colleagues.
You know, we view, you know, AI and humanity working together and that creates the, you know, the best possible results. But early days pleased with the response to Ask Macy's and eventually Ask Macy's will become Ask Bloomingdale's. And so that'll allow us to scale it across both brands.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
And Bob, I'd add that we have AI initiatives across the business. We have about 35 tests and pilots that we're running and we're really looking to leverage it in customer facing, helping our associates be more effective in their roles as well as in areas like supply chain. So we're really trying to see where it can help us and as Tony mentioned, help us serve our customer and work with humanity as well as the science.
Bob Drubal
Great. Thank you very much.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Thank you.
OPERATOR
Thank you. Our next question is coming from Oliver Chen of TD Cowan. Please go ahead.
Oliver Chen (Equity Analyst)
Hi Tony and Tom, really exciting in terms of the growth you're seeing regarding Back to School. What are your thoughts and key catalysts in terms of managing the opening in value relative to what you're clearly seeing with the best and better matrix.
Also it's competitive, so timing regarding that balance between just in time versus earlier due to the nature of competition and second, as we think about artificial intelligence and labor merchandising as well as inventory. Well, what are your.
How would you prioritize, you know, how this is going to impact the business as the pricing and supply chain is different but equally important to the large language models and how you're thinking about humanization of search and problem solution and agentic search optimization. Thank you.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Let me take the first part, Oliver, and then I'll let Tom take the second part. I'm excited about Back to School. We have back to kind of camp or day camps going on right now. The kids business is really healthy across boys, girls, the infants business that we do. I love the matrix that we have that you go from our own private brands to Ralph Lauren to Abercrombie to Nike to Jordan. We have a unique, I think compelling assortment across both genders.
And so I think we're becoming more of a destination for the kids category. Team's doing a terrific job and I think the assortments that I've seen look great and we're doing a better job I think by the way of being set up for the south, which goes back to school. Earlier versus the north. That obviously goes back to school after Labor Day. Let me just say this on AI and then I'll let Tom add his comments as well. Our AI strategy as our bold new chapter.
First is we start with the bold new chapter and how do we power the bold new chapter? It's through our belief that AI can help us drive revenue, make sure that we're giving our colleagues an easier experience and our customers a better experience and making sure that we're creating efficiencies like in the supply chain example you were raising.
So our strategy is the bold new chapter and our drivers kind of come from all the different proof of concepts we have in AI. Tom, what would you add?
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
And I'd add, Oliver, that we're good stewards of returns and ROI and very cognizant that AI can be costly to implement as well as providing great benefits on the other end. And that could be helping associates in store, in the office or in the supply chain. We're already using it in places like China Grove, so we're going to keep that in mind and make sure that as we leverage it, it's leveraged in a way that makes sense from a return perspective.
And then as Tony mentioned, support our overall strategy.
Oliver Chen (Equity Analyst)
One follow up Reimagined. We've noticed better service and also a compelling product assortment within that. What should we know about your private label initiatives as you have really important franchises there and I'm sure you're thinking about how to manage the differentiation amongst the private labels as well as innovation and also reimagine going forward.
Can you speed up the implementation to the whole base in terms of the progress you're seeing there? Thanks a lot. Best regards.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks, Oliver. Yeah, we're very proud and excited about the growth in the reimagined stores. 2.4% across geographies, across all cohorts of stores. And we're going to go as fast as we possibly can. Right now we're focused on the 200 stores that represent 60% of the store base and 75% of the Macy's store sales. You know, the customer is responding. They like the balance of market brands and private brands.
They like the balance of newness and fashion and basics. You know, our private brands are a strategy, but the private brands really serve as a part of the assortment. Architecture, architecture. Area by area. And we have parts of the business where private brand is 30 or 40% of the business. We have parts of the business where private brand is less than 3% of the business and it has to be what's appropriate in the individual category?
Are the market brands not servicing our needs and does private brands have a reason for being? Can we make more money by having something in a commodity in private brands and if not, we don't need to duplicate what is necessary and better potentially from the market brands with what we do in private brands. So we obviously have a private brand strategy.
We are committed to building our private brand business, but it's going to be more now based on what's appropriate area by area based on our assortment architecture.
OPERATOR
Thank you. The next question is coming from Simeon Siegel of Guggenheim Securities. Please go ahead.
Simeon Siegel (Equity Analyst)
Morning everyone. Tony. Really encouraging to hear the breadth of categories that are working. Just any high level thoughts on what areas might be lagging and where you still see meaningful opportunity to improve there. And then Tom, can you just elaborate on the marketing timing shift within the Macy's media network at all and how you're thinking about media versus credit card sales embedded within the full year. Other guide thanks.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Thanks Simeon. We mentioned the softness in the big ticket business, particularly furniture. I think that tariffs in that case made some of our products more expensive and the consumer pushed back. I also think the category has been softer just based on interest rates and the overall mortgage environment. So we're working hard to change the trajectory of our furniture business.
The other business that we saw softer was in plus sizes and that again for us has been soft for some time. So the team is busy at work trying to improve the quality of our assortments and make sure we have the right representation for the plus size customer.
We're just excited by the fact that we have so many categories right now that are trending positive and I think it's a good indication that there is more working than not across both Macy's, Bloomingdale's and bluemercury.
And Simeon, with regard to Macy's media network and credit card revenue, Macy's media Network was down 5% in the quarter due to timing of spending. But we have a line of sight to grow this business for the year and it's a very important revenue stream that builds on the Macy's brand equity and one that we're very excited about. It is still in early stages. As we're growing it.
We're focused on engaging with current and new advertisers, activating growth initiatives including the Amazon Ad Partnership that we announced last year. And it is a real strong part of the broader Macy's ecosystem. So we expect growth for the year expected to build over the course of
the year with regard to the credit card, the benefit of the net credit losses was taken in Q1. Going forward, we would expect the growth of the credit card to be more in line with the overall business. And between the two of them, our goal and outlook for the year of $920 million of revenue is unchanged from
our outlook and reflects growth year over year.
Simeon Siegel (Equity Analyst)
Great. Thanks a lot guys. Best of luck for the year.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Thanks Zimin.
OPERATOR
Thank you. Our next question is coming from Jay Sol of ubs. Please go ahead.
Jay Sol
Thank you so much for taking my question. Just want to follow up on the gross margin discussion. It looks like for EBITDA for Q2 you're guiding to EBITDA margin down 60 to 90bps and you're talking about SGA flat as a percentage of sales. So I guess that implies gross margin should be down about 60 90bps. Do we have that right? And then what would be driving that? Thank you.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Gross margin we expect to be fairly consistent excluding tariffs in Q2. And the tariffs and the fuel costs which were new for the quarter are around a 20 to 40 BP impact. So again, as we look forward to the year, Jay, we look to continue to grow the underlying gross margin and expand through the back half of the year.
Jay Sol
Got it. Okay.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Thank you Tom.
Marnie Shapiro
Thank you. The next question is coming from Marnie Shapiro of Retail Tracker. Please go ahead. Hey guys, congratulations and let's go Nick's. So I have two very quick questions. The marketing, how should we think about it in the back half of the year? Because you've a parade like the 100th parade coming up in the fourth quarter and that's seems to me a pretty big deal.
So I'm wondering if it's a little bit more weighted than usual to the fourth quarter and do you have events planned around that? And then just I think you mentioned that you have more people coming into the brand. Are you seeing younger shoppers come in and are they signing up for credit cards and the loyalty program and the whole arrangement at Macy's.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks, Marnie. Yeah, go. Nix is right. We're excited about the parade. We had to have the fireworks first and World cup, but the 50th we have lots of product for the 50th fireworks as well as the first time ever the east side and the west side will have fireworks. The partnership with MLB and stadium activations. And yes, the 100th parade is going to be like never before.
And we are busy at work trying to make sure that we have once in a lifetime moment that will be a part of that overall celebration. It's a great partnership between merchandise marketing and digital that brings it all to life. To make sure that we deliver something that's meaningful and memorable for the consumer. We're absolutely attracting new customers to both Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and I keep saying both to Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Blue Mercury.
Across all three brands, we are seeing signups of credit cards to, you know, all generations of customers. You know, it's making sure that the loyalty program first kind of credit second is that there's a reason to be a part of the membership of these brands, that there's something that you exciting to be a part of beyond just the points or the discount. And I think the teams are doing a nice job in that regard.
And then finally, I would say, you know, we sell brands. So to your report, whether it's addicted, whether it's Birkenstock, whether it's Ugg, whether it's Levi's, whether it's Ralph Lauren, whether it's Coach, the better our brands do it, attracting Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the more business we're going to have because we're the biggest partner for many of these brands.
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
And I'd add, Marnie, that on the credit card and loyalty and the signups we've talked about in the past, applications being up as we've worked across both digital and stores to engage with new customers and bring them in to our program. So we're very excited about the potential to continue to drive our credit card and loyalty program.
Marnie Shapiro
Congrats. Best of luck for some of you guys.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks, Marni.
OPERATOR
Thank you. The next question is coming from Janet Kloppenberg of JJK Research Associates. Please go ahead.
Janet Kloppenberg (Equity Analyst)
Hi, everybody, and congratulations. I just have one question. I think you said that traffic has been consistent and I think you also said that, you know, marketing as a percentage of sales might be flat. So I'm wondering if you need to invest in marketing to get the traffic up in the stores to tell the customer how Macy's has changed, how it's been upgraded, and obviously that's working, but maybe there's more opportunity there. Thank you.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks, Janet. I appreciate the challenge. I think there's what you spend and there's what you talk about. So one could argue we spend enough on marketing. We need to spend some of that money to better communicate the changes we're making, which is the challenge that we accept. We need to have a better balance of the top of funnel and bottom of funnel. And make sure that there is communication about the why in addition to the what.
We are constantly looking at geographies and the business between physical and digital. I'm less concerned, frankly about our traffic than I am about making sure that we get the right conversion on the quality of the assortment that we're providing for the customer without unnecessary levels of discounting.
So I think the team's doing a really good job of balancing where the customer is paying full price, where the customer is excited by the assortment, converting that customer at full margin, and then taking the necessary markdowns on things that aren't working as well. Tom what would you add?
Tom Edwards (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Janet I'd add that I really enjoy my partnership with our CMO and we take a very disciplined approach to marketing spending and I'm a big supporter of making sure we support the brand but also drive results. So we're looking at that on an ongoing basis and we do want to leverage marquee events.
I'd also add, Janet, this is all supported by a really robust strong free cash flow and strong free cash flow yield as well as a healthy balance sheet with no maturities out to 2030. So we have the flexibility to invest both in the business in other areas as well as marketing as we move forward.
Janet Kloppenberg (Equity Analyst)
Thank you. Good luck.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks Janet.
OPERATOR
Thank you ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to the end of today's question and answer session. I would like to turn the floor back over to Mr. Spring for closing comments.
Tony Spring (Chairman and CEO)
Thank you everybody for your participation. Just a reminder, please make sure you watch our fireworks on the 4th of July. They're going to be bigger and better than ever before with some incredible performances and a big shout out. And thank you to the parade and fireworks team for what I know is going to be a wonderful day for the brand. Have a good week everybody.
Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company's SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants' and analysts' statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.
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