
Spotting Winners: Macy's (NYSE:M) And Department Store Stocks In Q4
As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the department store industry, including Macy's (NYSE:M) and its peers.
Department stores emerged in the 19th century to provide customers with a wide variety of merchandise under one roof, offering a convenient and luxurious shopping experience. They played an important role in the history of American retail and urbanization, and prior to department stores, retailers tended to sell narrow specialty and niche items. But what was once new is now old, and department stores are somewhat considered a relic of the past. They are being attacked from multiple angles–stagnant foot traffic at malls where they’ve served as anchors; more nimble off-price and fast-fashion retailers; and e-commerce-first competitors not burdened by large physical footprints.
The 4 department store stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.6%.
Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 18.5% since the latest earnings results.
Macy's (NYSE:M)
With a storied history that began with its 1858 founding, Macy’s (NYSE:M) is a department store chain that sells clothing, cosmetics, accessories, and home goods.
Macy's reported revenues of $8.01 billion, down 4.4% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

Macy's delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. The stock is down 9.8% since reporting and currently trades at $12.
Is now the time to buy Macy's? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free .
Best Q4: Dillard's (NYSE:DDS)
With stores located largely in the Southern and Western US, Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) is a department store chain that sells clothing, cosmetics, accessories, and home goods.
Dillard's reported revenues of $2.05 billion, down 5% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Dillard's pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 22.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $353.61.