As Macy's (M) Stumbles After Earnings, It's Bringing Other Retailers Down With It

On Thursday, shares of department store giant Macy’s Inc. (NYSE:M) are tumbling, down over 13% in mid-morning trading after the retailer reported weak first quarter financial results before the bell, missing analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Macy’s posted adjusted earnings of 24 cents per share, falling short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents per share. Revenues came in at $5.338 billion, also missing our consensus estimate of $5.469 million and declining 7.5% year-over-year. Comparable sales (on an owned plus licensed basis) dipped 4.6%, while at owned locations, comps fell 5.2%.

Macy’s reaffirmed its fiscal 2017 outlook, and continues to expect total sales to decline in the range of 3.2% to 4.3%. For more info on Macy’s results, read Macy’s Misses Q1 Earnings & Sales, Keeps View Intact.

Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) , too, reported first-quarter earnings before the bell, posting an earnings beat despite a comps decline of 2.7%. KSS stock is down about 6.5% in mid-morning trading. Shares of Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS) are plummeting today as well, down over 13% after reporting first-quarter results. Even though both the top and bottom line beat estimates, sales and earnings continued on a downward trend, falling considerably year-over-year.

Other retailers in the industry are feeling the brunt of these weak reports. Fellow department store peers like JCPenney (NYSE:JCP) , Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) , and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) have all moved lower in unison, down 8.2%, 8.5%, and 6.7%, respectively, in the same time frame.

Retail holding companies like GIII Apparel (NASDAQ:GIII) and Ascena Retail Group (NASDAQ:ASNA) are falling today as well, down 6.8% and 6.9%, respectively. Even Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) and Gap (NYSE:GPS) have taken hits, with shares of the retailers down about 5% and 3.7% so far today.

Overall, this earnings season has been a strong one. Companies in the retail sector are usually the last to report, and we still have some big names left, from Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT) to Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) .

More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!

It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.

Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >>