By Suzanne Kapner

Macy's warned of weaker revenue in the crucial year-end period, saying net sales will likely come in at the low end or slightly below its previously guided range of $7.8 billion to $8 billion.

-- Comparable sales were unchanged in the nine weeks ended Jan. 4, compared to a year earlier. The metric measures sales at stores open at least a year.

-- The department-store chain expects fourth-quarter earnings to hit its target of $1.40 to $1.65 a share.

The retailer has tried to boost revenue by hiring more salespeople and making investments at 50 pilot stores and closing weaker stores. Comparable sales increased at the 50 pilot locations during the holiday period. On Monday, the company said the investments would expand to an additional 75 locations.

Macy's has been battling activist investors and recently revealed an employee had created $151 million in false bookkeeping entries.

One rival fared better this holiday. Nordstrom said Friday that comparable sales rose 5.8% for the nine weeks ended Jan. 4. It recently agreed to be taken private in a deal led by its founding family.

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January 13, 2025 07:01 ET (12:01 GMT)

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