Earnings

Macy's profit, revenue miss estimates; buyback plan raised by $1.5B

A shopper walking with a Macy's shopping bag in New York.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Macy's delivered quarterly earnings and revenue that fell short of expectations on Wednesday, as a strong dollar that foreign tourist spending in the United States.

Shares of Macy's moved lower in premarket trading following the announcement. (Get the latest quote here.)

The retail giant posted first-quarter earnings of 56 cents per share, down from 60 cents a share in the year-earlier period.

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Revenue fell to $6.23 billion from $6.28 billion a year ago.

Wall Street had expected the company to deliver quarterly earnings per share of 62 cents on $6.32 billion in revenue, according to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters.

The retailer is also raising its dividend by 15 percent.

Macy's, which operates the upscale Bloomingdale's chain as well as its namesake stores, also said it increased its share repurchase program by $1.5 billion, bringing the total outstanding authorization to about $2.1 billion.

It raised its quarterly dividend to 36 cents per share from 31.25 cents.

Same-store sales, including licensed departments, fell 0.1 percent. Analysts were expecting it to rise 1 percent, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.

Earlier this year the company announced that it would close more than a dozen stores across the country. The move was motivated by a savings goal of $140 million in 2015. The company said it will reinvest those savings in new technology and offsetting growing expenses from health care and retirement plans.

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Last week, Macy's announced the first four pilot stores in its new off-price business that will open this fall in the metro New York City area. The stores will be called Macy's Backstage and average about 30,000 square feet.

"We believe we can deliver a whole new level of value to customers who appreciate fashion and love to hunt for a bargain," said Peter Sachse, Macy's chief innovation and business development officer, in a press release.

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"Macy's Backstage stores will be designed to surprise and delight customers with continuously updated and fresh merchandise assortments focused on delivering current fashion with incredible prices, day-in and day-out, and enthusiastic sales associates."

Macy's said in February that about 12 percent of its first-quarter merchandise was being delayed due to the strike in West Coast ports.

Up to Tuesday's close, the company's shares had gained 14 percent in the last 12 months.

CNBC's Terri Cullen and Reuters contributed to this report.