Macy's tops expectations for the first quarter as luxury sales shine

Macy’s sales and profits fell during the first quarter as higher costs and other financial challenges had customers pulling back on spending. The results, announced Tuesday, beat Wall Street expectations. And Macy's raised its outlook for sales and profits, sending shares up in pre-market trading. Macy’s reported on Tuesday earnings of $62 million, or 22 cents per share for the quarter ended May 4. That compares with $155 million, or 56 cents per share in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share was 27 cents. Revenue dipped to $4.85 billion, down from $4.98 billion in the year-ago period. Wall Street had been looking for a profit of 16 cents per share, on sales of $4.82 billion, according to a survey by FactSet.