This week in retail: earnings, earnings, and even more earnings

Welcome back, everyone. We have a bit of a special edition this week because there are so, so many earnings calls right ahead of the very important holiday shopping season. Let’s dive right in.

Macy’s: Macy’s Q3 earnings report goes live this Thursday. CEO Jeff Gennette said in August that consumers were facing economic constraints, as evidenced by higher credit card balances and the return of student loan repayments.

• In June, Macy’s lowered its outlook for the rest of year during a Q2 in which net sales dropped to $5.1 billion from $5.6 billion a year earlier, and in-store revenue fell 8% YoY.
• In August, Gennette told CNBC that Macy’s planned to lean into products like fragrance and beauty, given that new clothes aren’t as big a priority for cash-strapped shoppers, as CNBC noted.
• Like many other retailers, Macy’s is handing out Black Friday deals early, with a sales event that started on Friday and runs through November 25.

The Home Depot: The home improvement retailer reports Q3 earnings Tuesday, and is coming off one of its best quarters in recent memory, albeit with some caveats. It was the first quarter in the last three in which the company beat Wall Street’s expectations, but the retailer also tempered its yearly outlook in anticipation of a YoY drop in sales, largely due to consumers shying away from big-ticket items.

• CFO Richard McPhail told CNBC in August that The Home Depot didn’t “expect to see meaningful inflation in the second half of the year.”

Other earnings calls this week include Sally Beauty (Tuesday); The TJX Companies, Target, and JD.com on Wednesday; Walmart, Ross Stores, Williams-Sonoma, Bath & Body Works, and Gap (Thursday); and BJ’s Wholesale and Foot Locker on Friday.