Macy's Finishes 2021 With Strong Q4 Results

After suffering mightily during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, department stores experienced a stunning improvement in their fortunes during 2021. Many major department store chains posted earnings well above pre-pandemic levels last year.

Macy's (NYSE: M) was no exception. On Tuesday, the No. 1 U.S. department store operator posted another strong earnings report to close out its 2021 fiscal year. Management offered an optimistic outlook for 2022, as well. Let's take a look.

Three months ago, Macy's posted stellar third quarter results, as adjusted earnings per share (EPS) reached $1.23: up from just $0.07 in Q3 2019. However, it issued a relatively cautious forecast for the fourth quarter. While the company projected that comparable sales would rise 2% to 4% compared to two years earlier, it estimated that adjusted EPS would fall to a range of $1.67 to $1.87, down from $2.12 in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Source Fool.com