Macy's, Inc. (M)

Item 7.    Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is intended to promote understanding of the results of operations and financial condition of the Company. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K). This section generally discusses the results of operations for 2024 compared to 2023 and 2022. The discussion that follows includes a comparison of our results of operations and liquidity and capital resources for the fiscal years ended February 1, 2025 to February 3, 2024 and January 28, 2023. For a full discussion of changes from the fiscal year ended February 3, 2024 to the fiscal year ended January 28, 2023, refer to Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Part II, Item 7 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2024 (filed March 22, 2024). This section also contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's plans, estimates and beliefs. The Company's actual results could materially differ from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to those differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed below and elsewhere in this report, particularly in "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements."

Fiscal 2024 Overview and Company Strategy

On February 27, 2024, the Company announced its new three-year strategy, A Bold New Chapter, which firmly places energy and focus on the needs of our customer and is centered on an enhanced omni-channel shopping experience across all three of our nameplates. This strategy prioritizes improving the shopping environment and elevating the customer experience, while reallocating capital from underproductive Macy's stores to focus resources and investments on its go-forward enterprise. The Company viewed fiscal 2024 as a transition and investment year in its implementation of the three pillars within the A Bold New Chapter strategy, and has made progress as follows:

•Strengthen and Reimagine Macy's nameplate

◦Rationalize store base: The Company announced it had identified approximately 150 underproductive Macy's locations for closure (collectively, the "non-go-forward" locations). Closures are designed to allow for monetization of these non-go-forward locations and prioritization of investments in the approximately 350 remaining Macy's locations (collectively, the "go-forward" locations) where the Company believes it has the most opportunity to improve productivity. For the non-go-forward Macy's locations and distribution centers, the Company is thoughtfully and strategically approaching monetization to execute accretive transactions and is encouraged by the pace and quality of deal activity to date. As a result, the Company closed 64 underproductive locations in fiscal 2024 versus its original expectations of roughly 50.

◦Launch First 50 Locations: The First 50 locations are a key component of the A Bold New Chapter strategy. They served as pilots to test ideas with staffing initiatives, enhanced merchandising, visual presentation and eventing.

▪The First 50 achieved its fourth consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth led by ready-to-wear, beauty and women's shoes which outperformed the rest of the fleet by about 320 basis points. Since the Fall, the Company tested staffing in women's shoes and/or handbags in roughly 100 additional go-forward Macy's locations, and these locations continued to outperform locations without similar investments during 2024. Performance of both the First 50 and 100 test doors illustrate that when investments are made in the customer experience, the Company can grow sales.

◦Revitalize assortment: The merchandising team continued its assortment matrix evolution, including: ongoing private brand enhancements; adding more relevant national brands; scaling other brands to additional doors; and editing brands that no longer serve our customer.

◦Grow digital: Digital continues to serve as both a gateway to the Macy's nameplate and a source of commerce and omni engagement. Macy's improved its site navigation, search engine optimization and introduced a more competitive pricing algorithm and continues to focus on providing customers a better mobile experience.

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•Accelerate luxury growth

◦Bloomingdale's: Bloomingdale's achieved the strongest fourth quarter comparable sales growth in its history, contributing to the strong fiscal 2024 comparable sales increase of 2.5%. The Company had an exclusive Wicked partnership in the fourth quarter, garnering roughly 15 billion media impressions, which was three times higher than last year’s Holiday marketing campaign. This partnership, along with the From Italy with Love store-wide campaign in the Fall, are prime examples of customers response to Bloomingdale's unique product curation. Two Bloomingdale's the Outlet locations and one Bloomie's location opened in 2024, bringing the total Bloomingdale's small format count to 27.

◦Bluemercury: Bluemercury achieved its 16th consecutive quarter and fourth consecutive year of comparable sales growth. It opened 17 new locations and completed seven remodels in fiscal 2024. In September, Bluemercury began its 25th anniversary celebration with a revamped website and the introduction of an updated store prototype. The new and remodeled stores elevate Bluemercury's service model and product mix curation.

•Simplify and modernize end-to-end operations

◦The Company is actively advancing on solutions to reduce organizational complexity and generate cost savings to fund growth investments. To achieve these goals, the Company is focused on outsourcing opportunities, process simplification, automation and applying emerging technologies, including predictive analytics, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence ("AI") and Generative AI, into our business.

◦The Company is also phasing out legacy technology across the organization to deliver an improved customer experience. In fiscal 2024, the Company realized a 400 basis point increase to the percent of orders delivered in five days or less and shortened the amount of days between when an order is placed to when it is shipped by 1,100 basis points. Finally, it improved product availability by over 400 basis points.

Comparable sales highlights for 2024 versus 2023 related to components of the A Bold New Chapter strategy are as follows:

•Macy's, Inc. comparable sales were down 2.0% on an owned basis and down 0.9% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.

◦Macy's, Inc. go-forward business comparable sales, inclusive of go-forward locations and digital across nameplates, were down 1.7% on an owned basis and down 0.6% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.

•Company's nameplate highlights include:

◦Macy's comparable sales were down 2.6% on an owned basis and down 1.6% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis. Macy's go-forward business comparable sales, inclusive of Macy’s go-forward locations and digital, were down 2.4% on an owned basis and down 1.3% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.

•First 50 locations comparable sales, included within go-forward locations comparable sales, were up 1.6% on an owned basis and up 1.8% on an owned-plus-licensed basis.

◦Bloomingdale's comparable sales were up 1.7% on an owned basis and up 2.5% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.

◦Bluemercury comparable sales were up 4.0% on an owned basis.

See pages 29 to 31 for reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures presented above to the most comparable U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) financial measures and other important information.

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Analysis of Results of Operations

See pages 29 to 31 for reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most comparable GAAP financial measure and for other important information.

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Comparison of 2024 and 2023

Net sales for 2024 were down $799 million, or 3.5%, compared to 2023. Net sales were impacted by ongoing macroeconomic conditions as well as the occurrence of a 53rd week in 2023, which contributed $252 million to 2023. Comparable sales on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis decreased 0.9%. Comparable sales growth at Macy’s First 50 locations, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury was offset primarily by weakness in Macy’s non-First 50 locations and the digital channel.

The decrease in other revenues from 2023 to 2024 was driven by a $82 million, or 13% decrease, in credit card revenues. This decrease was primarily driven by higher net credit losses as compared to 2023. Macy Media Network grew $21 million, or 14% from 2023 due to increased vendor engagement and higher advertiser and campaign counts.

Gross margin rate remained flat from 2023 to 2024. Merchandise margin1 declined 10 basis points from 2023 to 2024, primarily due to product mix and the impact from the conversion to cost accounting which were partially offset by favorable shortage due to the Company's asset protection work and liquidations.

SG&A expenses decreased $45 million, or 1%, from 2023 to 2024 due to the Company's cost controls while it also protected customer-facing investments, particularly in the First 50 locations. The increase in SG&A expense as a percent to total revenue in 2024 was driven by the decline in total revenue compared to 2023.

Asset sale gains in 2024 relate to the monetization of non-go-forward assets as part of the Company’s Bold New Chapter strategy while 2023 asset sale gains primarily relate to the sale of a distribution center and other properties.

1 Merchandise margin is defined as net sales less cost of sales less net delivery expense.

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The $171 million and $1.0 billion of impairment, restructuring and other costs recognized in 2024 and 2023, respectively, primarily relate to actions that align with the Company's A Bold New Chapter strategy. The primary costs consist of $88 million and $957 million non-cash asset impairment charges and $44 million and $55 million of restructuring charges recognized in 2024 and 2023, respectively. The impairment charges recognized in fiscal 2024 and 2023 primarily relate to the approximately 150 locations planned for closure as part of the A Bold New Chapter Strategy and the remaining amount is associated with corporate and other assets. The restructuring charges recognized in fiscal 2024 and 2023 consisted primarily of cash expenditures related to employee termination and severance charges.

The Company recorded non-cash net benefit plan income related to the Company's defined benefit plans. This income includes the net amount of interest cost, expected return on plan assets and amortization of prior service costs or credits and actuarial gains and losses. The increase in benefit plan income from 2023 to 2024 was mainly driven by an increase in discount rates as a result of market conditions.

Settlement charges in 2024 were primarily related to the pro-rata recognition of net actuarial losses associated with the Company's defined benefit retirement plans as the result of lump sum distributions associated with retiree distribution elections. Settlement charges in 2023 were higher than 2024 as they primarily related to the transfer of fully funded pension obligations for certain retirees and beneficiaries through the purchase of a group annuity contract with an insurance company, which occurred in the second quarter of 2023.

The 15% decrease in net interest expense, excluding losses on early retirement of debt, from 2023 to 2024 was primarily driven by an increase in interest income on investments.

In 2024, income tax expense of $181 million, or 23.7% of pretax income, reflects a different effective tax rate as compared to the Company's federal income tax statutory rate of 21% driven primarily by the impact of state and local taxes. In 2023, income tax benefit of $2 million, or 4.7% of pretax income, reflects a different effective tax rate as compared to the company's federal income tax statutory rate of 21% driven primarily by the reduced pretax income as a result of the impairment charges and state and local taxes.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company's principal sources of liquidity are cash from operations, cash on hand and the asset-based credit facility described below. Material contractual obligations arising in the normal course of business primarily consist of long-term debt and related interest payments, lease obligations, merchandise purchase obligations, retirement plan benefits, and self-insurance reserves. See Notes 4, 6 and 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Report for amounts outstanding on February 1, 2025, related to leases, debt, and retirement plans, respectively. Merchandise purchase obligations represent future merchandise payables for inventory purchased from various suppliers through contractual arrangements and are expected to be funded through cash from operations.

We believe that our available cash, together with expected future cash generated from operations, the amount available under our credit facility, and credit available in the market will be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated needs for working capital, capital expenditures, and cash dividends for at least the next 12 months and the foreseeable future thereafter.

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Capital Allocation

The Company's capital allocation goals include maintaining a healthy balance sheet and investment-grade credit metrics to be best-positioned for access to bank and capital market funding under all economic scenarios, followed by investing in the business through initiatives to drive long-term profitable growth and returning capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

The Company ended the year with a cash and cash equivalents balance of $1,306 million, an increase from $1,034 million in 2023. Also, the Company is party to the ABL Credit Facility with certain financial institutions providing for a $3,000 million Revolving ABL Facility. As of February 1, 2025, borrowing capacity of the ABL Credit Facility was $2,856 million, which reflects a $144 million reduction due to standby letters of credit outstanding and borrowing availability was $2,459 million, which considers a further $397 million reduction due to inventory levels and its impact on the ABL borrowing base.

Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities was $1,278 million in 2024 compared to $1,305 million in 2023. The decrease was primarily driven by lower earnings after excluding the non-cash adjustments, partially offset by working capital changes.

The Company's future material contractual obligations and commitments as it relates to operating activities as of February 1, 2025 are approximately $6.3 billion of operating lease obligations primarily due after 2029 and $2.9 billion of other obligations, the majority consisting of merchandise purchase obligations due in less than one year. Note 4 and Note 14 to the Financial Statements provide additional information on operating leases and other obligations, respectively.

Investing Activities

The Company's 2024 capital expenditures were $882 million, mainly driven by digital and technology investments as well as omni-channel capabilities. The Company also opened 32 new stores in 2024 across nameplates and formats and continued to invest in its current stores. The net cash used by investing activities were offset by $283 million of net proceeds from the disposition of assets.

The Company expects capital expenditures to be approximately $800 million during 2025. The Company's spend will be primarily focused on initiatives that will continue to support the A Bold New Chapter, including digital and technology investments, investments in our remaining go-forward locations, small format store openings and omni-channel capabilities. These expenditures are expected to be financed with cash from operations and existing cash and cash equivalents. There can be no assurance that current expectations will be realized and plans are subject to change upon further review of capital expenditure needs or based on the current economic environment.

Financing Activities

Dividends

The Company paid dividends totaling $192 million in 2024 and $181 million in 2023. The Board of Directors declared regular quarterly dividends of 17.37 cents per share on the Company's common stock, paid on April 1, 2024, July 1, 2024, October 1, 2024 and January 2, 2025, to Macy's, Inc. shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15, 2024, June 14, 2024, September 13, 2024 and December 13, 2024, respectively.

On February 28, 2025, the Company's Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 18.24 cents per share on its common stock, payable April 1, 2025, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 14, 2025. Subsequent dividends will be subject to approval of the Board of Directors, which will depend on market and other conditions.

Stock Repurchases

On February 22, 2022, the Company announced that its Board of Directors authorized a new $2.0 billion share repurchase program, which does not have an expiration date. During 2024, the Company did not repurchase any shares of its common stock on the open market. During 2023, the Company repurchased 1.4 million shares of its common stock at an average cost of $17.57 per share for $25 million. As of February 1, 2025, $1.4 billion remained available under the authorization. Repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable securities laws, including Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, on terms determined by the Company.

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Debt Transactions

The Company completed the following debt transactions in 2024:

•On September 18, 2024, the Company completed a tender offer in which $221 million of certain senior notes and debentures were tendered for early settlement. The total cash cost for the tender offer was $225 million and was funded using cash on hand.

•The Company borrowed and repaid $301 million under the ABL Credit Facility in 2024. The Company had no outstanding borrowings under the ABL Credit Facility as of February 1, 2025.

At February 1, 2025, no notes or debentures contained provisions requiring acceleration of payment upon a debt rating downgrade. However, the terms of approximately $2,235 million in aggregate principal amount of the Company's senior notes outstanding at that date require the Company to offer to purchase such notes at a price equal to 101% of their principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest if there is both a change of control (as defined in the applicable indenture) of the Company and the notes are rated by specified rating agencies at a level below investment grade.

The Company's future contractual obligations and commitments as it relates to financing activities as of February 1, 2025 are $2.8 billion of long-term debt obligations, including the current portion of long-term debt of $6 million, and $1.4 billion of related interest, $144 million of standby letters of credit and $23 million of finance lease obligations. Note 6 and Note 4 to the Financial Statements provide additional information on debt and finance leases, respectively.

As of February 1, 2025, the Company's credit rating and outlook were as described in the table below:

The Company may at any time and from time to time purchase, redeem, prepay, refinance, or otherwise retire any amount of outstanding indebtedness pursuant to the terms of such indebtedness, in open market or negotiated transactions, via tender offer or otherwise, including through the incurrence of new indebtedness, as the Company considers appropriate in light of market conditions and other relevant factors.

Guarantor Summarized Financial Information

The Company has senior unsecured notes and senior unsecured debentures (collectively the Unsecured Notes) outstanding with an aggregate principal amount of $2,785 million outstanding as of February 1, 2025, with maturities ranging from 2025 to 2043. The Unsecured Notes constitute debt obligations of Macy's Retail Holdings, LLC (MRH, or Subsidiary Issuer), a 100%-owned subsidiary of Macy's, Inc. (Parent together with the Subsidiary Issuer are the Obligor Group), and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by Parent. The Unsecured Notes rank equally in right of payment with all of the Company's existing and future senior unsecured obligations, senior to any of the Company's future subordinated indebtedness, and are structurally subordinated to all existing and future obligations of each of the Company's subsidiaries that do not guarantee the Unsecured Notes. Holders of the Company's secured indebtedness, including any borrowings under the ABL Credit Facility, will have a priority claim on the assets that secure such secured indebtedness; therefore, the Unsecured Notes and the related guarantee are effectively subordinated to all of the Subsidiary Issuer's and Parent and their subsidiaries' existing and future secured indebtedness to the extent of the value of the collateral securing such indebtedness.

The following tables include combined financial information of the Obligor Group. Investments in subsidiaries of $9,905 million as of February 1, 2025 have been excluded from the Summarized Balance Sheets. Equity in the earnings of non-Guarantor subsidiaries of $1,689 million have been excluded from the Summarized Statement of Operations. The combined financial information of the Obligor Group is presented on a combined basis with intercompany balances and transactions within the Obligor Group eliminated.

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Summarized Balance Sheet

a)Includes net amounts due to non-Guarantor subsidiaries of $1 million

Summarized Statement of Operations

a)Income pertains to transactions with ABL Borrower, a non-Guarantor subsidiary

b)Includes $750 million of dividend income from non-Guarantor subsidiaries

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Important Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company reports its financial results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). However, management believes that certain non-GAAP financial measures provide users of the Company's financial information with additional useful information in evaluating operating performance. Management believes that providing supplemental changes in comparable sales on an owned-plus-licensed basis and an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis, which includes the impact of growth in comparable sales of departments licensed to third parties and marketplace sales, as applicable, assists in evaluating the Company's ability to generate sales growth, whether through owned businesses, departments licensed to third parties or marketplace sales, on a comparable basis, and in evaluating the impact of changes in the manner in which certain departments are operated. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP financial measure which the Company believes provides meaningful information about its operational efficiency by excluding the impact of changes in tax law and structure, debt levels and capital investment. In addition, management believes that excluding certain items that are not associated with the Company's core operations and that may vary substantially in frequency and magnitude from period-to-period from net income (loss), diluted earnings (loss) per share and EBITDA provide useful supplemental measures that assist in evaluating the Company's ability to generate earnings and leverage sales, respectively, and to more readily compare these metrics between past and future periods. Management also believes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are frequently used by investors and securities analysts in their evaluations of companies, and that such supplemental measures facilitate comparisons between companies that have different capital and financing structures and/or tax rates. The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures as performance measures for components of executive compensation.

Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplementing, and not as an alternative or substitute for, the Company's financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Certain of the items that may be excluded or included in non-GAAP financial measures may be significant items that could impact the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows and should therefore be considered in assessing the Company's actual and future financial condition and performance. Additionally, the amounts received by the Company on account of sales of departments licensed to third parties and marketplace sales are limited to commissions received on such sales. The methods used by the Company to calculate its non-GAAP financial measures may differ significantly from methods used by other companies to compute similar measures. As a result, any non-GAAP financial measures presented herein may not be comparable to similar measures provided by other companies.

Changes in Comparable Sales

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure of changes in comparable sales on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis, to GAAP comparable sales (i.e., on an owned basis), which the Company believes to be the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

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(1)Represents the period-to-period percentage change in net sales from stores in operation for one full fiscal year presented and the immediately preceding year, adjusting for the 53rd week in fiscal 2023. Such calculation includes all digital sales and excludes commissions from departments licensed to third parties and marketplace. Stores impacted by a natural disaster or undergoing significant expansion or shrinkage remain in the comparable sales calculation unless the store, or material portion of the store, is closed for a significant period of time. Definitions and calculations of comparable sales may differ among companies in the retail industry.

(2)Represents the impact of including the sales of departments licensed to third parties occurring in stores in operation throughout the year presented and the immediately preceding year and all online sales, including marketplace sales, adjusting for the 53rd week in fiscal 2023, in the calculation of comparable sales. Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s license third parties to operate certain departments in its stores and online and receive commissions from these third parties based on a percentage of their net sales, while Bluemercury does not participate in licensed or Marketplace businesses. In its financial statements prepared in conformity with GAAP, the company includes these commissions (rather than sales of the departments licensed to third parties and Marketplace) in its net sales. The company does not, however, include any amounts in respect of licensed department or Marketplace sales (or any commissions earned on such sales) in its comparable sales in accordance with GAAP (i.e., on an owned basis). The amounts of commissions earned on sales of departments licensed to third parties and from the digital Marketplace are not material to its net sales for the periods presented.

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures adjusted net income to GAAP net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share to GAAP diluted earnings per share, which the Company believes to be the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

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EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to GAAP net income, which the Company believes to be the most comparable GAAP measure.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) requires that we make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. We base our estimates on historical experience and on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, and we continue to review and evaluate these estimates. For further information on significant accounting policies, see discussion in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Report.

Long-Lived Asset Impairment and Restructuring Charges

The carrying values of long-lived assets, inclusive of right of use (ROU) assets, are periodically reviewed by the Company whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable, such as historical operating losses or plans to close stores before the end of their previously estimated useful lives. Additionally, on an annual basis, the recoverability of the carrying values of individual stores is evaluated. A potential impairment has occurred if projected future undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the assets. The estimate of cash flows includes management's assumptions of cash inflows and outflows directly resulting from the use of those assets in operations. When a potential impairment has occurred, an impairment write-down is recorded if the carrying value of the long-lived asset exceeds its fair value. In both fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, the Company determined impairment charges were necessary for certain of its long-lived assets as disclosed further in Note 3. If estimated cash flows significantly differ in the future, the Company may be required to record additional asset impairment write-downs.

If the Company commits to a plan to dispose of a long-lived asset before the end of its previously estimated useful life or changes its use of corporate assets, estimated cash flows are revised accordingly, and the Company may be required to record an asset impairment charge. Additionally, related liabilities arise such as severance, contractual obligations and other accruals associated with store closings from decisions to dispose of assets. The Company estimates these liabilities based on the facts and circumstances in existence for each restructuring decision. The amounts the Company will ultimately realize or disburse could differ from the amounts assumed in arriving at the asset impairment and restructuring charge recorded.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

The Company reviews the carrying value of its goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives at least annually, as of the end of fiscal May, or more frequently if an event occurs or circumstances change, for possible impairment in accordance with ASC Topic 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other. For impairment testing, goodwill has been assigned to reporting units which consist of the Company's retail operating divisions. Macy's and Bluemercury are the only reporting units with goodwill as of February 1, 2025, and 98% of the Company's goodwill is allocated to the Macy's reporting unit.

The Company may elect to evaluate qualitative factors to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit or fair value of indefinite lived intangible assets is less than its carrying value. If the qualitative evaluation indicates that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit or indefinite lived intangible asset is less than its carrying amount, a quantitative impairment test is required. Alternatively, the Company may bypass the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit or indefinite lived intangible asset and directly perform the quantitative assessment. This determination can be made on an individual reporting unit or asset basis, and performance of the qualitative assessment may resume in a subsequent period.

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The quantitative impairment test involves estimating the fair value of each reporting unit and indefinite lived intangible asset and comparing these estimated fair values with the respective reporting unit or indefinite lived intangible asset carrying value. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss will be recognized in an amount equal to such excess, limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. If the carrying value of an individual indefinite lived intangible asset exceeds its fair value, such individual indefinite lived intangible asset is written down by an amount equal to such excess.

Estimating the fair values of reporting units and indefinite lived intangible assets involves the use of significant assumptions, estimates and judgments with respect to a variety of factors, including projected sales, gross margin and SG&A expense rates, capital expenditures, cash flows and the selection and use of an appropriate discount rate and market values and multiples of earnings and revenues of similar public companies. Projected sales, gross margin and SG&A expense rate assumptions and capital expenditures are based on the Company's annual business plan or other forecasted results. Discount rates reflect market-based estimates of the risks associated with the projected cash flows of the reporting unit or indefinite lived intangible asset.

The use of different assumptions, estimates or judgments in the goodwill impairment testing process, including with respect to the estimated future cash flows of the Company's reporting units, the discount rate used to discount such estimated cash flows to their net present value, and the reasonableness of the resultant implied control premium relative to the Company's market capitalization, could materially increase or decrease the fair value of the reporting unit and/or its net assets and, accordingly, could materially increase or decrease any related impairment charge.

For the Company's annual impairment assessment as of the end of fiscal May 2024 and 2023, the Company elected to perform a qualitative impairment test on its goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives and concluded that it is more likely than not that the fair values exceeded the carrying values and goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives were not impaired.

During the third quarter of fiscal 2023, the Company observed a general decline in the market valuation of the Company’s common shares and performed an interim qualitative impairment test on its reporting units. As a result of this test, the Company concluded that it is more likely than not that the fair values of its reporting units exceeded the carrying values and goodwill is not impaired.

The Company continues to monitor the key inputs to the fair values of its reporting units. A decline in market capitalization or future declines in macroeconomic factors or business conditions may result in additional impairment charges in future periods.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are estimated based on the tax statutes, regulations and case law of the various jurisdictions in which the Company operates. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases, and net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Deferred income tax assets are evaluated for recoverability based on all available evidence, including past operating results, estimates of future taxable income, and the feasibility of tax planning strategies. Deferred income tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that some portion of the deferred income tax assets will not be realized.

Pension and Supplementary Retirement Plans

The Company has a funded defined benefit pension plan (the Pension Plan) and an unfunded defined benefit supplementary retirement plan (the SERP). The Company accounts for these plans in accordance with ASC Topic 715, Compensation - Retirement Benefits. Under ASC Topic 715, an employer recognizes the funded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan as an asset or liability on the balance sheet and recognizes changes in that funded status in the year in which the changes occur through comprehensive income (loss). Additionally, pension expense is generally recognized on an accrual basis over the average remaining lifetime of participants. The pension expense calculation is generally independent of funding decisions or requirements.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 provides the funding requirements for the Pension Plan which are different from the employer's accounting for the plan as outlined in ASC Topic 715. No funding contributions were required, and the Company made no funding contributions to the Pension Plan in 2024 and 2023. As of the date of this report, the Company does not anticipate making funding contributions to the Pension Plan in 2025.

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The calculation of pension expense and pension liabilities requires the use of a number of assumptions. Changes in these assumptions can result in different expense and liability amounts, and future actual experience may differ significantly from current expectations. The Company believes that the most critical assumptions relate to the long-term rate of return on plan assets (in the case of the Pension Plan) and the discount rate used to determine the present value of projected benefit obligations.

The Company's assumed annual long-term rate of return for the Pension Plan's assets was 5.30% for 2024 and 2023 and 4.60% for 2022 based on expected future returns on the portfolio of assets. As of February 1, 2025, the Company increased the assumed annual long-term rate of return for the Pension Plan's assets to 5.50% based on expected future returns on the portfolio of assets. The Company develops its expected long-term rate of return assumption by evaluating input from several professional advisors taking into account the asset allocation of the portfolio and long-term asset class return expectations, as well as long-term inflation assumptions. Pension expense increases or decreases as the expected rate of return on the assets of the Pension Plan decreases or increases, respectively. Lowering or raising the expected long-term rate of return assumption on the Pension Plan's assets by 0.25% would increase or decrease the estimated 2025 pension expense by approximately $5 million.

The Company discounted its future pension obligations using a weighted-average rate of 5.52% at February 1, 2025 and 5.06% at February 3, 2024 for the Pension Plan and 5.54% at February 1, 2025 and 5.08% at February 3, 2024 for the SERP. The discount rate used to determine the present value of the Company's Pension Plan and SERP obligations is based on a yield curve constructed from a portfolio of high quality corporate debt securities with various maturities. Each year's expected future benefit payments are discounted to their present value at the appropriate yield curve rate, thereby generating the overall discount rate for Pension Plan and SERP obligations. As the discount rate is reduced or increased, the pension liability would increase or decrease, respectively, and future pension expense would decrease or increase, respectively. Lowering the discount rates by 0.25% would increase the projected benefit obligations at February 1, 2025 by approximately $33 million and would decrease estimated 2025 pension expense by approximately $1 million. Increasing the discount rates by 0.25% would decrease the projected benefit obligations at February 1, 2025 by approximately $31 million and would increase estimated 2025 pension expense by approximately $1 million.

The Company estimates the service and interest cost components of net periodic benefit costs for the Pension Plan and SERP. This method uses a full yield curve approach in the estimation of these components of net periodic benefit costs. Under this approach, the Company applies discounting using individual spot rates from the yield curve composed of the rates of return from a portfolio of high quality corporate debt securities available at the measurement date. These spot rates align to each of the projected benefit obligation and service cost cash flows.

Item 7.    Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is intended to promote understanding of the results of operations and financial condition of the Company. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K). This section generally discusses the results of operations for 2023 compared to 2022 and 2021. The discussion that follows includes a comparison of our results of operations and liquidity and capital resources for the fiscal years ended February 3, 2024 to January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022. For a full discussion of changes from the fiscal year ended January 28, 2023 to the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022, refer to Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Part II, Item 7 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2023 (filed March 24, 2023). This section also contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's plans, estimates and beliefs. The Company's actual results could materially differ from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to those differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed below and elsewhere in this report, particularly in "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements."

Fiscal 2023 Overview

Over the past several years, the Company has taken proactive actions to fortify its operations, including strengthening our balance sheet, managing expenses and improving inventory productivity. The dedicated work of our teams delivered a solid close to 2023 and provides a strong foundation for the Company to execute its new strategy, A Bold New Chapter, detailed further below. In evaluating 2023 performance, the Company considered its results against 2022. Certain financial highlights are as follows:

•Comparable sales, on a 52-week basis, decreased 6.9% on an owned basis and 6.0% on an owned-plus-licensed basis.

•Other revenue, consisting of net credit card revenue and Macy's Media Network revenue, decreased $233 million to $774 million.

•The gross margin rate was 38.8%, an increase of 140 basis points from 37.4%.

•Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses decreased $86 million to $8,375 million, or 35.1% of net sales, an increase of 190 basis points.

•Net income was $105 million, a decrease from net income of $1,177 million. Net income adjusted for impairment, restructuring and other costs, settlement charges, and losses on early retirement of debt (Adjusted net income) declined from $1,259 million to adjusted net income of $973 million.

•Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization excluding restructuring, impairment, store closings and other costs and settlement charges (Adjusted EBITDA) were $2,317 million, a decline from $2,648 million.

•Diluted earnings per share were $0.38, compared to diluted earnings per share of $4.19. On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings per share were $3.50, compared to adjusted diluted earnings per share of $4.48.

•Merchandise inventories were up 2% and inventory turnover decreased 2%.

See pages 31 to 33 for reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures presented above to the most comparable U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) financial measures and other important information.

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Company Strategy

During 2023, the Company focused on its five growth vectors, introduced at the start of the fiscal year and representing strategic investments designed to target future long-term profitable sales growth. Items actioned under each growth vector in 2023 include, but are not limited to, the following:

•Macy's private brand reimagination: In August 2023, Macy's launched On 34th, its first new private brand under the reimagination, with a strong customer response. Throughout 2023, Macy's refreshed I.N.C. in phases to further elevate the design strategy and fashion offering, and exited several heritage women's brands, including Alfani and Karen Scott.

•Macy's and Bloomie's small formats: In 2023, the Company opened four additional Macy's small format locations and one additional Bloomie's location.

•Digital marketplace: The Company launched Bloomingdale's marketplace in the second quarter of 2023 and continued to grow Macy's marketplace, ending the year with 120 brands and over 2,300 brands, respectively, at each nameplate.

•Luxury: In 2023, Bloomingdale's celebrated 50 years of its iconic Big Brown Bag, added several exciting brands and launched key collaborations with engaging in-store and digital activations, including Barbie- and Wonka-themed takeovers of The Carousel @ Bloomingdale's. The fourth quarter of 2023 marked Bluemercury's 12th consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth. It also unveiled two remodeled luxury stores in 2023 with elevated spa offerings and high-touch customer service, which serve as the foundation for future locations.

•Personalized offers and communication: The digital and technology teams tested and learned throughout 2023, including the recent launch of several multi-touch communications. The Company anticipates moving from testing in 2023 to scaling in 2024.

On February 27, 2024, the Company announced its new strategy, A Bold New Chapter, which is designed to return the Company to enterprise growth, unlock shareholder value, and better serve its customers. This new strategy builds on the five growth vectors, adds newly identified and stress-tested areas of opportunities, and is supported by the Company's financial disciplines. Over the next three years, the Company plans to:

•.Strengthen the Macy's nameplate

◦Rationalize store base: The Company identified approximately 150 underproductive Macy's locations for closure over the next three years (collectively, the "non-go-forward" locations), which will allow for monetization of assets at the non-go-forward locations and prioritization of investments in the approximately 350 remaining Macy's locations (collectively, the "go-forward" locations) where the Company believes it has the most opportunity to improve square footage productivity. In 2023, the 150 non-go-forward locations represented approximately 25% of the Company's gross square footage but less than 10% of net sales.

◦Rollout small format: The Company operated 12 Macy's small format stores at the end of the year and plans to add up to 30 locations in the next two years.

◦Revitalize assortment: The Company recently shifted its merchant colleague responsibilities to a full category approach rather than separate teams for owned and licensed business. This new approach allows the merchant organization to better focus on the nuances that make each category thrive, provides higher visibility and awareness across entire categories, strengthens relationships with partners, allows for diversification of product across price points, and better positions the Company to grow market share. The Company also expects to continue its private brand reimagination by capitalizing on white space opportunities that complement market brands and provide customers with more reasons to shop Macy's. The private brands generate higher merchandise margins and profit contribution relative to market brands.

◦Launch First 50 Doors: In 2023, the Company tested a small number of incubator locations with new ideas, including but not limited to elevated assortments, improved visual presentations and additional staffing in certain departments. These ideas were based on customer feedback and prioritized conversion. The comparable sales at these incubator locations outperformed the broader Macy's fleet by over 350 basis points. Given the results, the Company recently expanded the pilot to 50 locations, which will be referred to as the First 50. Learnings from the First 50 are expected to be applied to a broader set of locations beginning in fiscal 2025.

◦Grow digital: The Company plans to reevaluate its foundation to develop better search and navigation tools and offer personalized communications and recommendations that have a definitive Macy's point of view, culminating in an efficient and speedy checkout. Also, the Company plans to expand Marketplace and Macy's Media Network to improve profitability and increase customer engagement.

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•.Accelerate luxury growth

◦Accelerate Bloomingdale's growth: The Company plans to open a combined 15 Bloomie's and Bloomingdale's The Outlet locations over the next three years in new and existing markets, with the intent of leveraging the new markets to expand digital presence.

◦Accelerate Bluemercy growth: The Company will launch "The New Blue," Bluemercury's total omni-channel evolution inclusive of updated branding and store models. The Company plans to open at least 30 Bluemercury locations and remodel approximately 30 locations over the next three years with an expanded assortment, elevated aesthetics, centralized customer service hubs, integrated spa facilities and technology to support relationship building.

•.Simplify and modernize end-to-end operations

◦Rationalize and monetize the Company's supply chain portfolio, streamline fulfillment, improve inventory planning and allocation, and deliver a scalable technology platform: The benefits and cost savings from these activities are expected to fund the investments necessary to support the Company's strategy, offset inflationary cost pressures, and constrain fulfillment expense and SG&A dollar growth.

The Company considers fiscal 2024 a transition and investment year as it implements A Bold New Chapter.

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Analysis of Results of Operations

See pages 31 to 33 for reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most comparable GAAP financial measure and for other important information.

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Comparison of 2023 and 2022

Net sales for the Company in 2023, which included $252 million of net sales recognized in the 53rd week, were down 5.5% from 2022. Comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis decreased 6.0%, adjusted for the 53rd week in fiscal 2023. Net sales decreased for Macy's and Bloomingdale's, but grew for Bluemercury, and were impacted by a volatile macroeconomic environment as consumer spending in discretionary categories continued to be under pressure. Macy's experienced strength in beauty, particularly fragrances and prestige cosmetics, women's career sportswear, and men's tailored. Women's casual sportswear, active, and big ticket underperformed from the prior year. Owned average unit retail ("AUR") increased 5.1% from 2022, primarily driven by changes in product and category mix.

The decrease in other revenues from 2022 to 2023 was driven by a $244 million, or 28% decrease, in credit card revenues. This decrease was primarily driven by increased portfolio funding costs and higher credit losses, partially offset by higher finance charge income. Macy Media Network grew $11 million, or 8% from 2022.

Gross margin rate and merchandise margin rate increased 140 basis points and 80 basis points, respectively, from 2022 to 2023. The increase in merchandise margin was driven by lower permanent markdowns and improved inbound freight costs. Partially offsetting these benefits were anticipated changes in category mix and an increase in inventory shortage. Delivery expense, which is not a component of merchandise margin, as a percent of net sales decreased 60 basis points primarily due to improved carrier rates from contract renegotiation and improvements in inventory allocation.

SG&A expenses decreased $86 million, or 1%, from 2022 to 2023 due to ongoing expense discipline and effective implementation of cost saving initiatives. The increase in SG&A expense as a percent to total revenue was driven by the decline in total revenue.

2023 asset sale gains primarily relate to the sale of eight properties, while 2022 asset sale gains mainly consist of gains from the sale of six properties.

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On February 27, 2024, the Company announced its new strategy, A Bold New Chapter, which is designed to return the Company to enterprise growth, unlock shareholder value, and better serve its customers. The $1.0 billion of impairment, restructuring and other costs recognized in 2023 primarily relates to actions that align with A Bold New Chapter. The $957 million non-cash asset impairment charge recognized in 2023 primarily related to the approximately 150 locations planned for closure over the next three years, and the remaining non-cash impairment charge is associated with corporate and other assets. The $55 million of cash restructuring charges recognized in 2023 consisted primarily of cash expenditures related to employee termination and severance charges. The charges recognized in 2022 primarily related to the write-off of capitalized software assets.

The Company recorded non-cash net benefit plan income related to the Company's defined benefit plans. This income includes the net amount of interest cost, expected return on plan assets and amortization of prior service costs or credits and actuarial gains and losses. The decrease in benefit plan income from 2022 to 2023 was mainly driven by a decrease in the plan asset returns and higher discount rates as a result of market conditions.

Settlement charges in 2023 were higher than 2022 as they primarily related to the transfer of fully funded pension obligations for certain retirees and beneficiaries through the purchase of a group annuity contract with an insurance company. The settlement charges in 2022 were primarily related to the pro-rata recognition of net actuarial losses associated with the Company's defined benefit retirement plans as the result of lump sum distributions associated with retiree distribution elections.

The 17% decrease in net interest expense, excluding losses on early retirement of debt, was driven by an increase in interest income and interest savings associated with the financing activities completed in the first quarter of 2022 as well as lower Asset Based Lending (ABL) Credit Facility borrowings in 2023 compared to 2022.

In 2022, losses on early retirement of debt were recognized due to the early payment of $1.1 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes and debentures in March 2022.

In 2023, income tax expense of $19 million, or 15.3% of pretax income reflects a different effective tax rate as compared to the Company's federal income tax statutory rate of 21% due to reduced pretax income as a result of the aforementioned impairment charges, which amplified the impact of net tax credits on the effective rate. In 2022, income tax expense of $341 million, or 22.5% of pretax income, reflects a different effective tax rate as compared to the company's federal income tax statutory rate of 21% due to the impact of state and local taxes, partially offset by the benefit of state tax settlements.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company's principal sources of liquidity are cash from operations, cash on hand and the asset-based credit facility described below. Material contractual obligations arising in the normal course of business primarily consist of long-term debt and related interest payments, lease obligations, merchandise purchase obligations, retirement plan benefits, and self-insurance reserves. See Notes 4, 6 and 9 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Report for amounts outstanding on February 3, 2024, related to leases, debt, and retirement plans, respectively. Merchandise purchase obligations represent future merchandise payables for inventory purchased from various suppliers through contractual arrangements and are expected to be funded through cash from operations.

We believe that our available cash, together with expected future cash generated from operations, the amount available under our credit facility, and credit available in the market will be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated needs for working capital, capital expenditures, and cash dividends for at least the next 12 months and the foreseeable future thereafter.

Capital Allocation

The Company's capital allocation goals include maintaining a healthy balance sheet and investment-grade credit metrics to be best-positioned for access to bank and capital market funding under all economic scenarios, followed by investing in the business through initiatives to drive long-term profitable growth and returning capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

The Company ended the year with a cash and cash equivalents balance of $1,034 million, an increase from $862 million in 2022. Also, the Company is party to the ABL Credit Facility with certain financial institutions providing for a $3,000 million Revolving ABL Facility. As of February 3, 2024, borrowing capacity of the ABL Credit Facility was $2,852 million, which considers a $148 million reduction due to standby letters of credit outstanding and borrowing availability was $2,582 million, which considers a further $270 million reduction due to inventory levels and its impact on the ABL borrowing base.

Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities was $1,305 million in 2023 compared to $1,615 million in 2022. The decrease was primarily driven by lower adjusted EBITDA and working capital changes, partially offset by lower interest payments net of interest received and lower cash tax payments. The 2023 fiscal year ended in the beginning of calendar February compared to the end of calendar January in fiscal 2022, resulting in a larger reduction in accounts payable and accrued liabilities in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022.

The Company's future material contractual obligations and commitments as it relates to operating activities as of February 3, 2024 are approximately $6.5 billion of operating lease obligations primarily due after 2027 and $2.8 billion of other obligations, the majority consisting of merchandise purchase obligations due in less than one year. Note 4 and Note 14 to the Financial Statements provide additional information on operating leases and other obligations, respectively.

Investing Activities

The Company's 2023 capital expenditures were $993 million, mainly driven by digital and technology investments, data and analytics, supply chain modernization and enhanced omni-channel capabilities. The Company also opened nine new stores in 2023 across nameplates and formats, and continued to invest in its current stores.

The Company expects capital expenditures to be approximately $875 million during 2024. The Company's spend will be primarily focused on initiatives that will support A Bold New Chapter, including digital and technology investments, investments in our remaining go-forward locations, small format store openings and omni-channel capabilities. These expenditures are expected to be financed with cash from operations and existing cash and cash equivalents. There can be no assurance that current expectations will be realized and plans are subject to change upon further review of capital expenditure needs or based on the current economic environment.

Financing Activities

Dividends

The Company paid dividends totaling $181 million in 2023 and $173 million in 2022. The Board of Directors declared regular quarterly dividends of 16.54 cents per share on the Company's common stock, paid on April 3, 2023, July 3, 2023, October 2, 2023 and January 2, 2024, to Macy's, Inc. shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15, 2023, June 15, 2023, September 15, 2023 and December 15, 2023, respectively.

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On February 23, 2024, the Company's Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 17.37 cents per share on its common stock, payable April 1, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15, 2024. Subsequent dividends will be subject to approval of the Board of Directors, which will depend on market and other conditions.

Stock Repurchases

On February 22, 2022, the Company announced that its Board of Directors authorized a new $2.0 billion share repurchase program, which does not have an expiration date. During 2023, the Company repurchased approximately 1.4 million shares of its common stock at an average cost of $17.57 per share for $25 million. During 2022, the Company repurchased 24.0 million shares of its common stock at an average cost of $24.98 per share for $600 million. As of February 3, 2024, $1.4 billion remains available under the authorization. Repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable securities laws, including Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, on terms determined by the Company.

Debt Transactions

The Company borrowed and repaid $961 million under the ABL Credit Facility in 2023. The Company had no outstanding borrowings under the ABL Credit Facility as of February 3, 2024.

At February 3, 2024, no notes or debentures contained provisions requiring acceleration of payment upon a debt rating downgrade. However, the terms of approximately $2,409 million in aggregate principal amount of the Company's senior notes outstanding at that date require the Company to offer to purchase such notes at a price equal to 101% of their principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest if there is both a change of control (as defined in the applicable indenture) of the Company and the notes are rated by specified rating agencies at a level below investment grade.

The Company's future contractual obligations and commitments as it relates to financing activities as of February 3, 2024 are $3.0 billion of long-term debt obligations and $1.6 billion of related interest, $148 million of standby letters of credit and $21 million of finance lease obligations. Note 6 and Note 4 to the Financial Statements provide additional information on debt and finance leases, respectively.

As of February 3, 2024, the Company's credit rating and outlook were as described in the table below:

Guarantor Summarized Financial Information

The Company has senior unsecured notes and senior unsecured debentures (collectively the Unsecured Notes) outstanding with an aggregate principal amount of $3,007 million outstanding as of February 3, 2024, with maturities ranging from 2025 to 2043. The Unsecured Notes constitute debt obligations of Macy's Retail Holdings, LLC (MRH, or Subsidiary Issuer), a 100%-owned subsidiary of Macy's, Inc. (Parent together with the Subsidiary Issuer are the Obligor Group), and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by Parent. The Unsecured Notes rank equally in right of payment with all of the Company's existing and future senior unsecured obligations, senior to any of the Company's future subordinated indebtedness, and are structurally subordinated to all existing and future obligations of each of the Company's subsidiaries that do not guarantee the Unsecured Notes. Holders of the Company's secured indebtedness, including any borrowings under the ABL Credit Facility, will have a priority claim on the assets that secure such secured indebtedness; therefore, the Unsecured Notes and the related guarantee are effectively subordinated to all of the Subsidiary Issuer's and Parent and their subsidiaries' existing and future secured indebtedness to the extent of the value of the collateral securing such indebtedness.

The following tables include combined financial information of the Obligor Group. Investments in subsidiaries of $9,423 million as of February 3, 2024 have been excluded from the Summarized Balance Sheets. Equity in the earnings of non-Guarantor subsidiaries of $2,291 million have been excluded from the Summarized Statement of Operations. The combined financial information of the Obligor Group is presented on a combined basis with intercompany balances and transactions within the Obligor Group eliminated.

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Summarized Balance Sheet

a)Includes net amounts due to non-Guarantor subsidiaries of $5,645 million

Summarized Statement of Operations

a)Income pertains to transactions with ABL Borrower, a non-Guarantor subsidiary

b)Includes $874 million of dividend income from non-Guarantor subsidiaries

Important Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company reports its financial results in accordance with GAAP. However, management believes that certain non-GAAP financial measures provide users of the Company's financial information with additional useful information in evaluating operating performance. Management believes that providing supplemental changes in comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis, which includes the impact of growth in comparable sales of departments licensed to third parties, assists in evaluating the Company's ability to generate sales growth, whether through owned businesses or departments licensed to third parties, on a comparable basis, and in evaluating the impact of changes in the manner in which certain departments are operated. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP financial measure that the company believes provides meaningful information about its operational efficiency by excluding the impact of changes in tax law and structure, debt levels and capital investment. In addition, management believes that excluding certain items that are not associated with the Company's core operations and that may vary substantially in frequency and magnitude period-to-period from net income, diluted earnings per share and EBITDA provide useful supplemental measures that assist in evaluating the Company's ability to generate earnings and leverage sales, respectively, and to more readily compare these metrics between past and future periods. Management also believes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are frequently used by investors and securities analysts in their evaluations of companies, and that such supplemental measures facilitate comparisons between companies that have different capital and financing structures and/or tax rates. The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures as performance measures for components of executive compensation.

The Company does not provide reconciliations of the forward-looking non-GAAP measures of comparable owned plus licensed sales change, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted tax rate and adjusted diluted earnings per share to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measures because the timing and amount of excluded items are unreasonably difficult to fully and accurately estimate. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could be material to future results.

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Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplementing, and not as an alternative or substitute for, the Company's financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Certain of the items that may be excluded or included in non-GAAP financial measures may be significant items that could impact the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows and should therefore be considered in assessing the Company's actual and future financial condition and performance. Additionally, the amounts received by the Company on account of sales of departments licensed to third parties are limited to commissions received on such sales. The methods used by the Company to calculate its non-GAAP financial measures may differ significantly from methods used by other companies to compute similar measures. As a result, any non-GAAP financial measures presented herein may not be comparable to similar measures provided by other companies.

Changes in Comparable Sales

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure of changes in comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis, to GAAP comparable sales (i.e., on an owned basis), which the Company believes to be the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

(1)Represents the period-to-period percentage change in net sales from stores in operation throughout the year presented and the immediately preceding year, adjusting for the 53rd week in fiscal 2023. Such calculation includes all digital sales and excludes commissions from departments licensed to third parties or Marketplace. Stores impacted by a natural disaster or undergoing significant expansion or shrinkage remain in the comparable sales calculation unless the store, or a material portion of the store, is closed for a significant period of time. Definitions and calculations of comparable sales differ among companies in the retail industry.

(2)Represents the impact of including the sales of departments licensed to third parties occurring in stores in operation throughout the year presented and the immediately preceding year, including Marketplace sales, adjusting for the 53rd week in fiscal 2023 in the calculation of comparable sales. Macy's and Bloomingdale's license third parties to operate certain departments in its stores and online and receives commissions from these third parties based on a percentage of their net sales, while Bluemercury does not participate in licensed or Marketplace businesses. In its financial statements prepared in conformity with GAAP, the Company includes these commissions (rather than sales of the departments licensed to third parties) in its net sales. The Company does not, however, include any amounts in respect of licensed department or Marketplace sales (or any commissions earned on such sales) in its comparable sales in accordance with GAAP (i.e., on an owned basis). The amounts of commissions earned on sales of departments licensed to third parties and from the digital Marketplace are not material to its net sales for the periods presented.

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Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures adjusted net income to GAAP net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share to GAAP diluted earnings per share, which the Company believes to be the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to GAAP net income, which the Company believes to be the most comparable GAAP measure.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) requires that we make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. We base our estimates on historical experience and on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, and we continue to review and evaluate these estimates. For further information on significant accounting policies, see discussion in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Report.

Merchandise Inventories

Merchandise inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market using the last-in, first-out (LIFO) retail inventory method. Under the retail inventory method, inventory is segregated into departments of merchandise having similar characteristics and its cost value is derived from the current retail selling value. The retail inventory method inherently requires operational management judgments and estimates, such as the amount and timing of permanent markdowns to clear unproductive or slow-moving inventory, which may impact the ending inventory valuation as well as gross margins.

Permanent markdowns designated for clearance activity are recorded when the utility of the inventory has diminished. Operational factors considered in determining to permanently markdown inventory include current and anticipated demand, customer preferences, age of the merchandise and fashion trends. When a decision is made to permanently mark down merchandise, the resulting gross margin reduction is recognized in the period the markdown is recorded.

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Long-Lived Asset Impairment and Restructuring Charges

The carrying values of long-lived assets, inclusive of right of use (ROU) assets, are periodically reviewed by the Company whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable, such as historical operating losses or plans to close stores before the end of their previously estimated useful lives. Additionally, on an annual basis, the recoverability of the carrying values of individual stores is evaluated. A potential impairment has occurred if projected future undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the assets. The estimate of cash flows includes management's assumptions of cash inflows and outflows directly resulting from the use of those assets in operations. When a potential impairment has occurred, an impairment write-down is recorded if the carrying value of the long-lived asset exceeds its fair value. The Company believes its estimated cash flows are sufficient to support the carrying value of its long-lived assets. If estimated cash flows significantly differ in the future, the Company may be required to record asset impairment write-downs.

During fiscal 2023, the Company recognized impairment charges of $957 million primarily related to the approximately 150 locations planned for closure over the next three years as part of A Bold New Chapter strategy, and the remaining associated with corporate and other assets

If the Company commits to a plan to dispose of a long-lived asset before the end of its previously estimated useful life or changes its use of corporate assets, estimated cash flows are revised accordingly, and the Company may be required to record an asset impairment charge. Additionally, related liabilities arise such as severance, contractual obligations and other accruals associated with store closings from decisions to dispose of assets. The Company estimates these liabilities based on the facts and circumstances in existence for each restructuring decision. The amounts the Company will ultimately realize or disburse could differ from the amounts assumed in arriving at the asset impairment and restructuring charge recorded.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

The Company reviews the carrying value of its goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives at least annually, as of the end of fiscal May, or more frequently if an event occurs or circumstances change, for possible impairment in accordance with ASC Topic 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other. For impairment testing, goodwill has been assigned to reporting units which consist of the Company's retail operating divisions. Macy's and Bluemercury are the only reporting units with goodwill as of February 3, 2024, and 98% of the Company's goodwill is allocated to the Macy's reporting unit.

The Company may elect to evaluate qualitative factors to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit or fair value of indefinite lived intangible assets is less than its carrying value. If the qualitative evaluation indicates that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit or indefinite lived intangible asset is less than its carrying amount, a quantitative impairment test is required. Alternatively, the Company may bypass the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit or indefinite lived intangible asset and directly perform the quantitative assessment. This determination can be made on an individual reporting unit or asset basis, and performance of the qualitative assessment may resume in a subsequent period.

The quantitative impairment test involves estimating the fair value of each reporting unit and indefinite lived intangible asset and comparing these estimated fair values with the respective reporting unit or indefinite lived intangible asset carrying value. If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss will be recognized in an amount equal to such excess, limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. If the carrying value of an individual indefinite lived intangible asset exceeds its fair value, such individual indefinite lived intangible asset is written down by an amount equal to such excess.

Estimating the fair values of reporting units and indefinite lived intangible assets involves the use of significant assumptions, estimates and judgments with respect to a variety of factors, including projected sales, gross margin and SG&A expense rates, capital expenditures, cash flows and the selection and use of an appropriate discount rate and market values and multiples of earnings and revenues of similar public companies. Projected sales, gross margin and SG&A expense rate assumptions and capital expenditures are based on the Company's annual business plan or other forecasted results. Discount rates reflect market-based estimates of the risks associated with the projected cash flows of the reporting unit or indefinite lived intangible asset.

The use of different assumptions, estimates or judgments in the goodwill impairment testing process, including with respect to the estimated future cash flows of the Company's reporting units, the discount rate used to discount such estimated cash flows to their net present value, and the reasonableness of the resultant implied control premium relative to the Company's market capitalization, could materially increase or decrease the fair value of the reporting unit and/or its net assets and, accordingly, could materially increase or decrease any related impairment charge.

For the Company's annual impairment assessment as of the end of fiscal May 2023 and 2022, the Company elected to perform a qualitative impairment test on its goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives and concluded that it is more likely than not that the fair values exceeded the carrying values and goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives were not impaired.

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During the third quarter of fiscal 2023, the Company observed a general decline in the market valuation of the Company’s common shares and performed an interim qualitative impairment test on its reporting units. As a result of this test, the Company concluded that it is more likely than not that the fair values of its reporting units exceeded the carrying values and goodwill is not impaired.

The Company continues to monitor the key inputs to the fair values of its reporting units. A decline in market capitalization or future declines in macroeconomic factors or business conditions may result in additional impairment charges in future periods.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are estimated based on the tax statutes, regulations and case law of the various jurisdictions in which the Company operates. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases, and net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Deferred income tax assets are evaluated for recoverability based on all available evidence, including past operating results, estimates of future taxable income, and the feasibility of tax planning strategies. Deferred income tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that some portion of the deferred income tax assets will not be realized.

Pension and Supplementary Retirement Plans

The Company has a funded defined benefit pension plan (the Pension Plan) and an unfunded defined benefit supplementary retirement plan (the SERP). The Company accounts for these plans in accordance with ASC Topic 715, Compensation - Retirement Benefits. Under ASC Topic 715, an employer recognizes the funded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan as an asset or liability on the balance sheet and recognizes changes in that funded status in the year in which the changes occur through comprehensive income (loss). Additionally, pension expense is generally recognized on an accrual basis over the average remaining lifetime of participants. The pension expense calculation is generally independent of funding decisions or requirements.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 provides the funding requirements for the Pension Plan which are different from the employer's accounting for the plan as outlined in ASC Topic 715. No funding contributions were required, and the Company made no funding contributions to the Pension Plan in 2023 and 2022. As of the date of this report, the Company does not anticipate making funding contributions to the Pension Plan in 2024.

The calculation of pension expense and pension liabilities requires the use of a number of assumptions. Changes in these assumptions can result in different expense and liability amounts, and future actual experience may differ significantly from current expectations. The Company believes that the most critical assumptions relate to the long-term rate of return on plan assets (in the case of the Pension Plan) and the discount rate used to determine the present value of projected benefit obligations.

The Company's assumed annual long-term rate of return for the Pension Plan's assets was 5.30% for 2023, 4.60% for 2022 and 5.75% for 2021 based on expected future returns on the portfolio of assets. As of February 3, 2024, the Company held flat the assumed annual long-term rate of return for the Pension Plan's assets at 5.30% based on expected future returns on the portfolio of assets. The Company develops its expected long-term rate of return assumption by evaluating input from several professional advisors taking into account the asset allocation of the portfolio and long-term asset class return expectations, as well as long-term inflation assumptions. Pension expense increases or decreases as the expected rate of return on the assets of the Pension Plan decreases or increases, respectively. Lowering or raising the expected long-term rate of return assumption on the Pension Plan's assets by 0.25% would increase or decrease the estimated 2024 pension expense by approximately $5 million.

The Company discounted its future pension obligations using a weighted-average rate of 5.06% at February 3, 2024 and 4.73% at January 28, 2023 for the Pension Plan and 5.08% at February 3, 2024 and 4.74% at January 28, 2023 for the SERP. The discount rate used to determine the present value of the Company's Pension Plan and SERP obligations is based on a yield curve constructed from a portfolio of high quality corporate debt securities with various maturities. Each year's expected future benefit payments are discounted to their present value at the appropriate yield curve rate, thereby generating the overall discount rate for Pension Plan and SERP obligations. As the discount rate is reduced or increased, the pension liability would increase or decrease, respectively, and future pension expense would decrease or increase, respectively. Lowering the discount rates by 0.25% would increase the projected benefit obligations at February 3, 2024 by approximately $37 million and would decrease estimated 2024 pension expense by approximately $2 million. Increasing the discount rates by 0.25% would decrease the projected benefit obligations at February 3, 2024 by approximately $36 million and would increase estimated 2024 pension expense by approximately $2 million.

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The Company estimates the service and interest cost components of net periodic benefit costs for the Pension Plan and SERP. This method uses a full yield curve approach in the estimation of these components of net periodic benefit costs. Under this approach, the Company applies discounting using individual spot rates from the yield curve composed of the rates of return from a portfolio of high quality corporate debt securities available at the measurement date. These spot rates align to each of the projected benefit obligation and service cost cash flows.

Item 7.    Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is intended to promote understanding of the results of operations and financial condition of the Company. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K). This section generally discusses the results of operations for 2022 compared to 2021 and 2020. The discussion that follows includes a comparison of our results of operations and liquidity and capital resources for the fiscal years ended January 28, 2023 to January 29, 2022 and January 30, 2021. For a full discussion of changes from the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022 to the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021, refer to Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Part II, Item 7 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022 (filed March 25, 2022). This section also contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's plans, estimates and beliefs. The Company's actual results could materially differ from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to those differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed below and elsewhere in this report, particularly in "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements."

Fiscal 2022 Overview

The Company successfully navigated 2022 from a position of financial and operational strength. Despite an increasingly volatile macroeconomic climate, through the ongoing execution of the Company's Polaris strategy detailed further below, it remained agile, pivoted to meet customer demand and elevated its approach to inventory management. The Company built a solid foundation for long-term, profitable sales growth through investments in its supply chain, data and analytics, pricing science, digital and technology which have enabled its operations and colleagues to become more efficient and flexible. In evaluating 2022 performance, the Company considered its results against 2021. Certain financial highlights are as follows:

•Comparable sales increased 0.3% on an owned basis and 0.6% on an owned-plus-licensed basis.

•Net credit card revenue increased $31 million to $863 million.

•The gross margin rate was 37.4%, a decrease from 38.9%.

•Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses increased $270 million to $8,317 million, or 34.0% of net sales, an increase of 110 basis points.

•Net income was $1,177 million, a decrease from net income of $1,430 million. Net income adjusted for impairment, restructuring and other costs, settlement charges, and losses on early retirement of debt declined from adjusted net income of $1,668 million to adjusted net income of $1,259 million.

•Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization excluding restructuring, impairment, store closings and other costs and settlement charges (Adjusted EBITDA) were $2,648 million, a decline from $3,320 million.

•Diluted earnings per share were $4.19, compared to diluted earnings per share of $4.55. On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings per share were $4.48, compared to adjusted diluted earnings per share of $5.31.

•Merchandise inventories were down 3% and inventory turnover decreased 4%.

See pages 30 to 32 for reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures presented above to the most comparable U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) financial measures and other important information.

Company Strategy

During 2022, the Company continued to execute its Polaris strategy and these actions impacted its operating results for the year, notably:

•Win With Fashion and Style: By offering a wide assortment of categories, products and brands from off-price to luxury, the Company continued to reach a broad and diverse range of customers during 2022. The Company is committed to providing quality fashion newness through reimagining its private brand portfolio, which is in its early stages and is expected to begin to take shape in fiscal 2023, building best-in-class experiences though partnerships with brands such as, but not limited to, Pandora and Sunglass Hut and growing relevancy for the next generation of customers through its omni-channel brand platform Own Your Style. Modernizing the supply chain allowed the Company to maintain freshness in every category and brand during 2022, including those that were down-trending.

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•Deliver Clear Value: The Company has leveraged data analytics and pricing tools to efficiently plan, place and price inventory, including location level pricing, competitive pricing and point-of -sale pricing work. With these actions, the Company is strategically taking markdowns and reducing broad-based promotions to improve the productivity of sell-throughs. These collective activities have contributed to nine consecutive quarters of higher average unit retail.

•Excel in Digital Shopping: While the Company experienced deceleration in the growth of its digital channel during 2022 as consumers shifted back to in-store shopping, the Company continued to make digital investments to serve customers' lifestyle needs through several initiatives. These included continued enhancements in personalized offers and communication with customers; enhancements to its mobile app to allow customers to shop their personal style, price check in-store, manage their Star Rewards and track orders; and, further develop its live shopping in-app experience. Macy's digital Marketplace launched in late September 2022, which features a collection of new brands, products and categories from third-party sellers, representing a pathway to introduce customers to new merchandise options while limiting inventory risk. Bloomingdale's is expected to launch a similar digital marketplace in the second half of 2023. Also, Macy's Media Network (MMN), an in-house media platform that enables business-to-business monetization of advertising partnerships, generated approximately $144 million of net income in 2022, an increase of 34% from 2021.

•Enhance Store Experience: The Company continues to invest in physical stores to support its omni-channel ecosystem and build new capabilities to help make the shopping experience convenient and compelling. The Company made strides in repositioning its store fleet through strategic expansion of off-mall, smaller format stores which now includes eight Market by Macy's and two Bloomies locations. The Company is currently evaluating the right number and mix of on and off-mall locations. Since February 2020, the Company has closed its most significant underperforming stores, exited failing centers and improved the existing store experience, while delaying closures of others that are cash flow positive. Finally, the Company introduced permanent Toys “R” Us shops within all Macy’s locations which resulted in toy sales for the year more than doubling from 2021.

•Modernize Supply Chain: The Company has continued to update its supply chain infrastructure and network, while leveraging improved data and analytics capabilities in fulfillment strategies to meet customers' desire for speed and convenience and improving inventory placement and productivity. Through its actions, the Company is building a faster, more efficient and flexible network through market-based mini-fulfillment centers in select stores and testing robotics and automation in select fulfillment centers. Finally, the Company plans to open a new distribution center in Texas in mid-2023 and a new fulfillment center in North Carolina in 2025.

•Enable Transformation: The Company is focused on investing in the right talent, technology infrastructure and data analytics to increase agility in reacting to customers and the market regardless of the channel in which customers interact. As part of the Company's ongoing commitment to attract and retain talent, it made significant investments in its colleagues’ benefit programs in 2022, including launching the Guild Education partnership that provides free education benefits, raising the company-wide minimum rate to $15 per hour and increasing compensation and benefits for colleagues across Macy’s Inc.

In addition to the pillars of the Polaris strategy above, the Company is committed to providing value to people, communities and the planet through the evolution of its Mission Every One social purpose platform. In early November, the Company launched S.P.U.R. Pathways: Shared Purpose, Unlimited Reach, with its partner Momentus Capital. S.P.U.R. Pathways is a multi-year, multi-faceted program that ultimately is expected to provide up to $200 million of funding. The Company is committed to contribute approximately $30 million over five years to empower new brands across the Company’s network of stores and broaden the Company’s range of suppliers. The funding is designed to advance entrepreneurial growth, close wealth gaps and address systemic barriers faced by diverse-owned and underrepresented businesses serving the retail industry.

Looking forward, in addition to the existing strategies and initiatives discussed above, the Company will focus on the following five primary growth vectors that represent strategic investments designed to target future long-term profitable sales growth:

•Macy's private brands reimagination - designed to drive customer loyalty, be a differentiator for the business, complement national brands matrix and benefit gross margin.

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•Market by Macy's and Bloomies off-mall store expansion - integral role in supporting the omnichannel ecosystem, which we expect to unlock the full potential by testing and learning in 2023 and potentially incrementally accelerating openings in 2024 if stores continue to outperform.

•Digital marketplace - on a multi-year journey with marketplace, keeping a pulse on market dynamics and shifts to deliver the best experience for customers and sellers.

•Luxury brands - attracting and retaining luxury customer through differentiated products, services and experiences at Bloomingdale's, Bluemercury and beauty at Macy's.

•Personalized offers and communication - opportunity to build loyalty, grow customer lifetime value and product margins, creating tailored and intimate customer experience.

The Company will monitor its operating results against pillars of the Polaris strategy and the growth vectors as it progresses through 2023.

Analysis of Results of Operations

See pages 32 to 34 for reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most comparable GAAP financial measure and for other important information.

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Comparison of 2022 and 2021

Net sales for 2022 were relatively flat to the same period in the prior year as the Company navigated a volatile macroeconomic environment and inflation; however, comparable store sales increased from 2021 on both an owned and owned plus licensed basis. During 2022, consumer shopping behavior shifted toward gifting and occasion-based categories, with strength in beauty, men's tailored apparel, dresses, shoes and luggage. Pandemic-driven categories such as active, casual and soft home, underperformed the prior year. Digital sales as a percent of net sales decreased compared to the prior year largely due to a shift back to in-store shopping.

The increase in net credit card revenues was driven by better than expected bad debt levels, higher credit balances within the portfolio and higher spending on the co-brand credit card.

The decrease in the gross margin rate was primarily due to lower merchandise margin (approximately 170 bps), which was driven by higher markdowns and promotions, particularly in pandemic related categories as a result of the shift in consumer demand as well as heightened competitive retail landscape due to elevated industry-wide inventory levels. This was partially offset by a reduction in delivery expense (approximately 20 basis points), which coincides with the reduction in the digital sales penetration rate. Inventory turnover decreased 4% over 2021 and inventory was down 3% compared to 2021, mainly due to disciplined inventory management, strategic use of data analytics, the alignment of the merchandising team and the successful integrations and modernization of the supply chain.

SG&A expenses increased in 2022 both in dollars and as a percent to net sales. The increase in SG&A expense and as a percent to net sales corresponds with the Company filling a significant number of positions that were open in the prior year as well as adjustments to colleague compensation and benefits to remain competitive and attract the best talent, including increasing the Company's minimum wage to $15/hour starting May 1, 2022.

2022 asset sale gains mainly consist of gains from the sale of 6 properties, versus approximately 18 properties sold at a gain in 2021.

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Impairment, restructuring and other costs in 2022 and 2021 primarily related to the write-off of capitalized software assets.

The Company records non-cash net benefit plan income relating to the Company's defined benefit plans. This income includes the net amount of interest cost, expected return on plan assets and amortization of prior service costs or credits and actuarial gains and losses. The decrease in benefit plan income from 2021 to 2022 was mainly driven by a decrease in the plan asset returns and higher discount rates as a result of market conditions.

The settlement charges in 2022 were primarily related to the pro-rata recognition of net actuarial losses associated with the Company's defined benefit retirement plans as the result of lump sum distributions associated with retiree distribution elections. The charges in 2021 were higher than 2022 as they primarily related to the transfer of fully funded pension obligations for certain retirees and beneficiaries through the purchase of a group annuity contract with an insurance company.

The decrease in net interest expense, excluding losses on early retirement of debt, was primarily driven by interest savings associated with the redemption of the Company's $1.3 billion aggregate principal amount of its senior secured notes due 2025 in August 2021, as well as the financing activities completed in the first quarter of 2022.

In 2022, losses on early retirement of debt were recognized due to the early payment of $1.1 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes and debentures in the first quarter of 2022. In 2021, losses on early retirement of debt were recognized primarily due to redemption of the entire outstanding $1.3 billion amount of the Company's senior secured notes due 2025 in the third quarter of 2021, as well as the repurchase of $500 million aggregate principal amount of notes in a tender offer in the first quarter of 2021.

In 2022, income tax expense of $341 million, or 22.5% of pretax income reflects a different effective tax rate as compared to the company’s federal income tax statutory rate of 21% driven primarily by the impact of state and local taxes, offset by the benefit of state tax settlements. In 2021, income tax expense of $436 million, or 23.4% of pretax income, reflects a different effective tax rate as compared to the company's federal income tax statutory rate of 21% primarily by the impact of state and local taxes.

Guidance

On March 2, 2023, the Company disclosed in its release of preliminary earnings its performance expectations for 2023, presented on a 53-week basis unless otherwise noted. The 2023 outlook was as follows:

•Net sales between $23.7 billion to $24.2 billion,

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•Comparable owned-plus-licensed sales, on a 52-week basis, are expected to be down approximately 2% to 4% from 2022,

•Digital sales approximately 32% to 34% of net sales,

•Credit card revenue, net approximately 3.1% of net sales,

•Gross margin rate between approximately 38.7% and 39.2%,

•SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales approximately 36.3%,

•Gains on sale of real estate between $60 million and $75 million,

•Benefit plan income of approximately $12 million,

•Depreciation and amortization expense of approximately $910 million,

•Adjusted EBITDA between approximately 10.3% and 10.8% of net sales,

•Net interest expense of approximately $165 million,

•An adjusted tax rate of approximately 24.5%,

•Diluted shares outstanding of approximately 282 million,

•Adjusted diluted EPS between $3.67 and $4.11, and

•Capital expenditures of approximately $1 billion.

The Company does not provide reconciliations of the forward-looking non-GAAP measures of comparable owned plus licensed sales change, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted tax rate and adjusted diluted earnings per share to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measures because the timing and amount of excluded items are unreasonably difficult to fully and accurately estimate. See Important Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company's principal sources of liquidity are cash from operations, cash on hand and the asset-based credit facility described below. Material contractual obligations arising in the normal course of business primarily consist of long-term debt and related interest payments, lease obligations, merchandise purchase obligations, retirement plan benefits, and self-insurance reserves. See Notes 4, 6 and 9 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Report for amounts outstanding on January 28, 2023, related to leases, debt, and retirement plans, respectively. Merchandise purchase obligations represent future merchandise payables for inventory purchased from various suppliers through contractual arrangements and are expected to be funded through cash from operations.

We believe that our available cash, together with expected future cash generated from operations, the amount available under our credit facility, and credit available in the market will be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated needs for working capital, capital expenditures, and cash dividends for at least the next 12 months and the foreseeable future thereafter.

Capital Allocation

The Company's capital allocation goals include maintaining a healthy balance sheet and investment-grade credit metrics to be best-positioned for access to bank and capital market funding under all economic scenarios, followed by investing in the business through initiatives to drive long-term profitable growth and returning capital to shareholders through modest yet predictable dividends and share repurchases, absent more attractive investment alternatives.

The Company ended the year with a cash and cash equivalents balance of $862 million, a decrease from $1,712 million in 2021. Also, the Company is party to the Asset Based Lending (ABL) Credit Facility with certain financial institutions providing for a $3,000 million Revolving ABL Facility. As of January 28, 2023, borrowing capacity of the ABL Credit Facility was $2,935 million, which considers a $65 million reduction due to standby letters of credit outstanding and borrowing availability was $2,531 million, which considers a further $404 million reduction due to inventory levels and its impact on the ABL borrowing base.

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Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities was $1,615 million in 2022 compared to $2,712 million in 2021. The decrease from 2021 to 2022 was mainly driven by lower adjusted EBITDA and a $582 million income tax refund as a result of the CARES Act received in 2021.

The Company's future material contractual obligations and commitments as it relates to operating activities as of January 28, 2023 are approximately $6.8 billion of operating lease obligations primarily due after 2027 and $2.6 billion of other obligations, primarily consisting of merchandise purchase obligations due in less than one year. Note 4 and Note 14 to the Financial Statements provide additional information on operating leases and other obligations, respectively.

Investing Activities

The Company's 2022 capital expenditures were $1,295 million, mainly driven by enhanced omni-channel capabilities, digital and technology, data and analytics, and supply chain modernization. The Company also opened ten new stores in 2022 across nameplates and formats, and continued to invest in its current stores.

The Company expects capital expenditures to be approximately $1.0 billion during 2023. The Company's spend will be primarily focused on initiatives that will accelerate our profitable growth, including digital and technology investments, data and analytics, supply chain modernization and omni-channel capabilities, including our growth vectors. These expenditures are expected to be financed with cash from operations and existing cash and cash equivalents. There can be no assurance that current expectations will be realized and plans are subject to change upon further review of capital expenditure needs or based on the current economic environment.

Financing Activities

Dividends

The Company paid dividends totaling $173 million in 2022 and $90 million in 2021. The Board of Directors declared regular quarterly dividends of 15.75 cents per share on the Company’s common stock, paid on April 1, 2022, July 1, 2022, October 3, 2022 and January 3, 2023, to Macy’s, Inc. shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15, 2022, June 15, 2022, September 15, 2022 and December 15, 2022, respectively.

On February 24, 2023, the Company's Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 16.54 cents per share on its common stock, payable April 3, 2023, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15, 2023. Subsequent dividends will be subject to approval of the Board of Directors, which will depend on market and other conditions.

Stock Repurchases

The Company completed its 2021 $500 million share repurchase program by January 29, 2022. During 2021, the Company repurchased 20.5 million shares of its common stock, which represents more than 6.5% of shares outstanding, at an average cost of $24.40 per share.

On February 22, 2022, the Company announced that its Board of Directors authorized a new $2.0 billion share repurchase program, which does not have an expiration date. During 2022, the Company repurchased approximately 24.0 million shares of its common stock at an average cost of $24.98 per share for $600 million. As of January 28, 2023, $1.4 billion remains available under the authorization. Repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable securities laws, including Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, on terms determined by the Company.

Debt Transactions

The Company completed the following debt transactions in 2022:

•On March 3, 2022, the Company entered into a third amendment to the ABL Credit Facility which provides for a new Revolving Credit Facility of $3.0 billion.

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•On March 8, 2022, the Company completed a tender offer in which $8 million of certain senior secured notes were tendered for early settlement and the collateral that secured the remaining $352 million of the Company’s senior secured notes was automatically released.

•On March 10, 2022, the Company issued $425 million of senior notes due 2030 and $425 million of senior notes due 2032 in a private offering. Proceeds from the issuance, together with cash on hand, were used to redeem $1.1 billion of certain of its outstanding senior notes and pay fees and expenses in connection with the offering.

•The Company borrowed and repaid $1,959 million under the ABL Credit Facility in 2022. The Company had no outstanding borrowings under the ABL Credit Facility as of January 28, 2023.

At January 28, 2023, no notes or debentures contained provisions requiring acceleration of payment upon a debt rating downgrade. However, the terms of approximately $2,409 million in aggregate principal amount of the Company's senior notes outstanding at that date require the Company to offer to purchase such notes at a price equal to 101% of their principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest if there is both a change of control (as defined in the applicable indenture) of the Company and the notes are rated by specified rating agencies at a level below investment grade.

The Company's future contractual obligations and commitments as it relates to financing activities as of January 28, 2023 are $3.0 billion of long-term debt obligations and $1.8 billion of related interest, $65 million of standby letters of credit and $24 million of finance lease obligations. Note 6 and Note 4 to the Financial Statements provide additional information on debt and finance leases, respectively.

As of January 28, 2023, the Company's credit rating and outlook were as described in the table below, reflecting the substantially improved credit profile of the Company.

Guarantor Summarized Financial Information

The Company has senior unsecured notes and senior unsecured debentures (collectively the Unsecured Notes) outstanding with an aggregate principal amount of $3,007 million outstanding as of January 28, 2023, with maturities ranging from 2025 to 2043. The Unsecured Notes constitute debt obligations of Macy's Retail Holdings, LLC (MRH, or Subsidiary Issuer), a 100%-owned subsidiary of Macy's, Inc. (Parent together with the Subsidiary Issuer are the Obligor Group), and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by Parent. The Unsecured Notes rank equally in right of payment with all of the Company’s existing and future senior unsecured obligations, senior to any of the Company’s future subordinated indebtedness, and are structurally subordinated to all existing and future obligations of each of the Company’s subsidiaries that do not guarantee the Unsecured Notes. Holders of the Company’s secured indebtedness, including any borrowings under the ABL Credit Facility, will have a priority claim on the assets that secure such secured indebtedness; therefore, the Unsecured Notes and the related guarantee are effectively subordinated to all of the Subsidiary Issuer’s and Parent and their subsidiaries’ existing and future secured indebtedness to the extent of the value of the collateral securing such indebtedness.

The following tables include combined financial information of the Obligor Group. Investments in subsidiaries of $9,146 million as of January 28, 2023 have been excluded from the Summarized Balance Sheets. Equity in the earnings of non-Guarantor subsidiaries of $2,169 million have been excluded from the Summarized Statement of Operations. The combined financial information of the Obligor Group is presented on a combined basis with intercompany balances and transactions within the Obligor Group eliminated.

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Summarized Balance Sheet

a)Includes net amounts due to non-Guarantor subsidiaries of $6,784 million

Summarized Statement of Operations

a)Income pertains to transactions with ABL Borrower, a non-Guarantor subsidiary

b)Includes $1,008 million of dividend income from non-Guarantor subsidiaries

Important Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company reports its financial results in accordance with GAAP. However, management believes that certain non-GAAP financial measures provide users of the Company's financial information with additional useful information in evaluating operating performance. Management believes that providing supplemental changes in comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis, which includes the impact of growth in comparable sales of departments licensed to third parties, assists in evaluating the Company's ability to generate sales growth, whether through owned businesses or departments licensed to third parties, on a comparable basis, and in evaluating the impact of changes in the manner in which certain departments are operated. Earnings (loss) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP financial measure that the company believes provides meaningful information about its operational efficiency by excluding the impact of changes in tax law and structure, debt levels and capital investment. In addition, management believes that excluding certain items that are not associated with the Company's core operations and that may vary substantially in frequency and magnitude period-to-period from net income (loss), diluted earnings (loss) per share attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders and EBITDA provide useful supplemental measures that assist in evaluating the Company's ability to generate earnings and leverage sales, respectively, and to more readily compare these metrics between past and future periods. Management also believes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are frequently used by investors and securities analysts in their evaluations of companies, and that such supplemental measures facilitate comparisons between companies that have different capital and financing structures and/or tax rates. The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures as performance measures for components of executive compensation.

The Company does not provide reconciliations of the forward-looking non-GAAP measures of comparable owned plus licensed sales change, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted tax rate and adjusted diluted earnings per share to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measures because the timing and amount of excluded items are unreasonably difficult to fully and accurately estimate. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could be material to future results.

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Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplementing, and not as an alternative or substitute for, the Company's financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Certain of the items that may be excluded or included in non-GAAP financial measures may be significant items that could impact the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows and should therefore be considered in assessing the Company's actual and future financial condition and performance. Additionally, the amounts received by the Company on account of sales of departments licensed to third parties are limited to commissions received on such sales. The methods used by the Company to calculate its non-GAAP financial measures may differ significantly from methods used by other companies to compute similar measures. As a result, any non-GAAP financial measures presented herein may not be comparable to similar measures provided by other companies.

Changes in Comparable Sales

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure of changes in comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis, to GAAP comparable sales (i.e., on an owned basis), which the Company believes to be the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

(1)Represents the period-to-period percentage change in net sales from stores in operation throughout the year presented and the immediately preceding year and all online sales, excluding commissions from departments licensed to third parties. Stores impacted by a natural disaster or undergoing significant expansion or shrinkage remain in the comparable sales calculation unless the store, or a material portion of the store, is closed for a significant period of time. No stores have been excluded as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Definitions and calculations of comparable sales differ among companies in the retail industry.

(2)Represents the impact of including the sales of departments licensed to third parties occurring in stores in operation throughout the year presented and the immediately preceding year and all online sales in the calculation of comparable sales. The Company licenses third parties to operate certain departments in its stores and online and receives commissions from these third parties based on a percentage of their net sales. In its financial statements prepared in conformity with GAAP, the Company includes these commissions (rather than sales of the departments licensed to third parties) in its net sales. The Company does not, however, include any amounts in respect of licensed department sales (or any commissions earned on such sales) in its comparable sales in accordance with GAAP (i.e., on an owned basis). The amounts of commissions earned on sales of departments licensed to third parties are not material to its net sales for the periods presented.

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Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures adjusted net income (loss) to GAAP net income (loss) and adjusted diluted earnings (loss) per share to GAAP diluted earnings (loss) per share, which the Company believes to be the most directly comparable GAAP measures.