How did Macy's revenue and expenses shift in Q4 2025 compared to previous quarters?

Macy's revenue and expenses in Q4 2025 showed a mixed performance compared to previous quarters: 1. **Revenue Shift**: - Macy's reported revenue for Q4 2025 was $7.77 billion. This represents a decrease of approximately 4.3% from the $8.12 billion reported in the same period the previous year. The decline in revenue was due to a 1.1% decrease in comparable sales across all stores, including the Macy's banner, Bloomingdale's, and Blue Mercury. However, there was a positive trend in certain segments, such as the "First 50" locations, which saw a 0.8% increase in comparable sales on an owned basis and a 1.2% increase on an owned-plus-licensed basis. Additionally, owned and licensed businesses, plus its online marketplace, experienced a 0.2% increase in comparable sales. - The revenue decline was partly offset by the performance of Bluemercury, which reported its 16th consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth, up 6.2%, and Bloomingdale’s, which reported owned comparable sales growth of 4.8% and its highest fourth quarter owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace comparable sales growth of 6.5%. 2. **Expense Shift**: - Despite the decline in revenue, Macy's reported a net income of $342 million, or $1.21 per share, for Q4 2025, compared with a loss of $128 million, or a loss of 47 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. This indicates a shift towards profitability in the quarter. - The company's reported gross margin was 35.7%, which was slightly below the 37.5% recorded in the same period the previous year but ahead of the forecasted 35.6%. This suggests that while there was some margin pressure due to the revenue decline, the company was able to manage costs effectively to maintain profitability. - Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $1.80 for Q4 2025, which exceeded analyst expectations of $1.54. This indicates that Macy's was able to deliver stronger-than-expected profitability metrics despite the revenue decline. In conclusion, Macy's experienced a decline in revenue due to a decrease in comparable sales across most stores, but this was partly offset by the performance of certain segments and cost management that led to improved profitability metrics.