Macy's swings to a second quarter profit, but sales surprisingly weak as customers grow cautious

Macy’s swung back to a profit in its second quarter but suffered yet another sales decline as inflationary weary shoppers rein in spending, with their focus increasingly on buying the essentials. The company, which also operates upscale Bloomingdale’s stores and cosmetics chain Bluemercury, cut its annual sales forecast given what it called “a more discriminating consumer” and the need to roll out more sales to entice them. Shares slumped 7% before the opening bell Wednesday. The company reported a profit of $150 million, or 53 cents per share, in the three-months ended Aug. 3, topping Wall Street expectations for per-share earnings of 30 cents. Yet sales fell nearly 4% to $4.94 billion.