Episode summary
Macy’s Falls on Guidance Despite Sales Beat, Better Outlook | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence
· · 23 min · Hosts: Paul Sweeney, Scarlet Fu · Guests: Emily Cohn, Anurag Rana, Payam Zamani, Tyler Reddick
Summary
Macy’s reported a sales beat and raised outlook, but investors focused on guidance that still came in below estimates, especially at the low end. The guest said the market was disappointed because expectations are now high after a strong prior-year quarter, even though Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury both posted strong results and Macy’s is leaning more into a higher-end consumer with products like real fur and real leather. The guest also pointed to a weaker lower-end shopper, plus-size softness, and even a possible boost from GLP-1 drugs as people refresh wardrobes.
Apple’s new iPhone Duo drew a more enthusiastic reaction, with the guest arguing the foldable phone shows a return to design-led product innovation. The device, priced from $1,999, is framed as a new user experience that could help Apple’s perception on AI if on-device features and a better Siri land well. The guest said phones still account for more than 50% of revenue and remain the core of Apple’s ecosystem.
The conversation then shifted to Payam Zamani’s idea of “spiritual capitalism,” a philosophy that ties investment decisions to founder values and long-term social impact. A final segment on NASCAR focused on Tyler Reddick’s season, team growth at 23XI Racing, and the sport’s increasingly data-driven, collaborative nature.
Key takeaways
- Macy’s raised guidance, but the guest said investors were disappointed because the bottom end of sales and EPS guidance still missed estimates.
- The guest said Macy’s is leaning into higher-end shoppers while lower-income consumers remain more selective.
- The guest argued GLP-1 drugs could help retailers by pushing consumers to buy new wardrobes.
- The guest said Apple’s iPhone Duo marks a return to design-first product thinking and could improve Apple’s AI narrative.
- The guest said Apple’s phones are still more than 50% of revenue and remain the anchor of its ecosystem.
- Payam Zamani said his investing philosophy centers on founder values and “the betterment of the world,” not just ROI.
Notable quotes
“overall this is a pretty strong report. It's a really a strong beat on Q2 as you noted. It's an outlook raise, but inst are have high expectations for this company now”
“the higher end is doing well and Blue Mercury had posted strong results too. That's their higherend uh uh uh cosmetics cosmetics, sorry, like hair and uh creams and cosmetics brand”
“We also heard them say GLP1s are helping the business. People have to go out and buy new wardrobes”
“phones are critical to the entire ecosystem. They are over 50% of revenue and truly the only thing that's holding up the uh the the entire you could say Apple ecosystem”
“I think that is what everybody took. Uh I've never seen the stock up after, you know, them announcing any of the new products because it's always the same thing”
How the episode opens
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Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube. Consumerfacing companies are feeling some pressure. Macy's is one of those and it's because of its latest earnings report.
Macy's shares are down about 3%. Emily Con is our Bloomberg consumer team leader and she's here with us to talk about Macy's. Um Emily, Macy's, which of course is a parent company of Bloomingdales as well, did give a sales beat um and also gave a better outlook, but the stock is still down.
So just talk us through how and why investors seem to be disappointed. Yeah, so overall this is a pretty strong report. It's a really a strong beat on Q2 as you noted.
It's an outlook raise, but inst are have high expectations for this company now. Um, and looking at, you know, they had a really strong third quarter last year. So, I think the company is being conservative with its growth forecast.
Um, measuring year-over-year after last year's really strong quarter. They're giving themselves some room. And I think comps analysts have um analysts and investors have high have high expectations.
What's the strategy now for Macy's? How does Macy's want to position itself in the retail space these days? — This is really interesting. So if you look at their results, what's working the best? I mean, Bloomingdales had a blowout quarter in Q2. I think they had their strongest Q2 revenue ever. Um the higher end is doing well and Blue Mercury had posted strong results too. That's their higherend uh uh uh cosmetics cosmetics, sorry, like hair and uh creams and cosmetics brand.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- macy's earnings guidance
- apple iphone duo foldable launch
- purpose-driven capitalism
- nascar season outlook
- consumer retail outlook
Companies and tickers mentioned
- M
- AAPL
- Macy's, Inc.
- Apple Inc.
- One Planet Group
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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