M · Consumer discretionary(retail-department stores) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2026-01-31
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Macy's, Inc. reported revenue of $21.8 billion in fiscal 2026, after shrinking 1.9% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin held steady at about 4.7% from 2017, and it earned 16.0% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $16.1 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 35.7% went back into the business and 17.4% to dividends; the share count fell 11.0%. On the accounting screens, it passes 7 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 3.15 is in the safe zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; 1 of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 202621.8B-1.9% a year over 9 years
Operating margin4.7%gross margin 38.0%
Return on invested capital16.0%16.0% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay998.0M4.6% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDANet cash1.2B more cash than debt
Piotroski F-score7/9tests of improvement passed
Is it growing?
Revenue and the operating income it turns into. Growth that does not reach operating income is growth bought with margin.
RevenueOperating income
-10.0B010.0B20.0B30.0B
2017Revenue 25.9BOperating income 1.4B
2018Revenue 24.9BOperating income 1.9B
2019Revenue 25.0BOperating income 1.7B
2020Revenue 24.6BOperating income 970.0M
2021Revenue 17.3BOperating income -4.5B
2022Revenue 24.5BOperating income 2.4B
2023Revenue 24.4BOperating income 1.7B
2024Revenue 23.1BOperating income 301.0M
2025Revenue 22.3BOperating income 909.0M
2026Revenue 21.8BOperating income 1.0B
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
-3.8%
+4.6%
-1.9%
Operating income
-15.2%
—
-3.1%
Net income
-17.6%
—
+0.3%
Earnings per share
-17.1%
—
+1.6%
Free cash flow per share
+13.9%
+30.8%
-0.2%
Dividend per share
+5.0%
+13.6%
-7.8%
Shares
-0.5%
-2.3%
-1.3%
Falling shares are buybacks: each remaining share owns more of the company.
Does it earn more than its capital costs?
Margins say how much of each sale is kept; return on invested capital says how much the business earns on the money it needs to operate. Growth only creates value when that return is above the cost of the capital.
Return on invested capitalCost of capital today · 10.2%
-75.0%-50.0%-25.0%0.0%25.0%50.0%
2017Return on invested capital 7.9%
2018Return on invested capital 15.8%
2019Return on invested capital 12.3%
2020Return on invested capital 7.1%
2021Return on invested capital -71.9%
2022Return on invested capital 26.0%
2023Return on invested capital 18.5%
2024Return on invested capital 4.1%
2025Return on invested capital 15.2%
2026Return on invested capital 16.0%
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Economic profit
Economic profit
-8.0B-6.0B-4.0B-2.0B02.0B
2017Economic profit -246.4M
2018Economic profit 644.7M
2019Economic profit 236.8M
2020Economic profit -328.4M
2021Economic profit -6.0B
2022Economic profit 1.1B
2023Economic profit 590.7M
2024Economic profit -428.3M
2025Economic profit 229.8M
2026Economic profit 284.6M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
(return on capital − cost of capital) × capital invested: the profit left after paying for the money used. Today's cost of capital is applied to every year, since a past one cannot be rebuilt honestly.
Return on equity
13.2%
Return on assets
4.0%
Asset turnover
1.34×
Overheads (SG&A)
37.9% of revenue
Is the profit cash, and where does the cash go?
Net income is an accounting opinion; free cash flow is what was left in the bank after investing. Stock-based pay does not leave the bank — shareholders pay it through dilution — so it is shown taken off as well.
Net incomeFree cash flowAfter stock-based pay
-4.0B-2.0B02.0B4.0B
2017Net income 627.0MFree cash flow 1.2BAfter stock-based pay 1.1B
2018Net income 1.6BFree cash flow 1.5BAfter stock-based pay 1.4B
2019Net income 1.1BFree cash flow 1.1BAfter stock-based pay 1.0B
2020Net income 564.0MFree cash flow 706.0MAfter stock-based pay 668.0M
2021Net income -3.9BFree cash flow 311.0MAfter stock-based pay 280.0M
2022Net income 1.4BFree cash flow 2.4BAfter stock-based pay 2.3B
2023Net income 1.1BFree cash flow 727.0MAfter stock-based pay 673.0M
2024Net income 45.0MFree cash flow 674.0MAfter stock-based pay 627.0M
2025Net income 582.0MFree cash flow 760.0MAfter stock-based pay 702.0M
2026Net income 642.0MFree cash flow 1.1BAfter stock-based pay 998.0M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2017–2026
16.1B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 36%5.7B
Acquisitions 0%0
Dividends 17%2.8B
Share buybacks 11%1.7B
Kept, or used to pay down debt 36%5.9B
Over the same years it paid 524.0M in stock. The share count fell 11.0%. 1.2B of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-20.00$-10.00$0.00$10.00
2017Earnings per share $2.02Free cash flow per share $3.88Dividend per share $1.48
2018Earnings per share $5.10Free cash flow per share $4.85Dividend per share $1.50
2019Earnings per share $3.56Free cash flow per share $3.46Dividend per share $1.49
2020Earnings per share $1.81Free cash flow per share $2.27Dividend per share $1.50
2021Earnings per share $-12.68Free cash flow per share $1.00Dividend per share $0.38
2022Earnings per share $4.55Free cash flow per share $7.51Dividend per share $0.29
2023Earnings per share $4.08Free cash flow per share $2.59Dividend per share $0.62
2024Earnings per share $0.16Free cash flow per share $2.42Dividend per share $0.65
2025Earnings per share $2.07Free cash flow per share $2.70Dividend per share $0.68
2026Earnings per share $2.32Free cash flow per share $3.82Dividend per share $0.71
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
270.0M280.0M290.0M300.0M310.0M320.0M
2017Diluted shares 310.8M
2018Diluted shares 306.8M
2019Diluted shares 311.4M
2020Diluted shares 311.4M
2021Diluted shares 311.1M
2022Diluted shares 314.0M
2023Diluted shares 281.1M
2024Diluted shares 278.2M
2025Diluted shares 281.6M
2026Diluted shares 276.5M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
How strong is the balance sheet?
Debt is not bad in itself; debt the business cannot service in a bad year is. Net debt is debt minus cash, and below zero the company holds more cash than it owes.
Net debt
-2.0B02.0B4.0B6.0B
2017Net debt 5.5B
2018Net debt 4.3B
2019Net debt 3.3B
2020Net debt 3.6B
2021Net debt 3.1B
2022Net debt 1.6B
2023Net debt 2.1B
2024Net debt 2.0B
2025Net debt -1.3B
2026Net debt -1.2B
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
-0.6×
Interest coverage
7× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.49 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
—
Three classic screens of the accounts
Each asks a different question of the same statements — is it improving, does it look like a company heading for distress, do the accounts resemble ones that were manipulated. None is a verdict; each shows what moves it.
Piotroski F-score
Is the business improving? Nine yes-or-no tests, this year against last.
7of 9 tests passed
✓ProfitableReturn on assets above zeropassed
✓Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zeropassed
✓Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforepassed
✓Profit backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income (low accruals)passed
✓Less long-term debtLong-term debt as a share of assets fellpassed
✓More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforepassed
✓No new sharesShare count did not growpassed
✕Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year beforefailed
✕Sells more per assetAsset turnover higher than a year beforefailed
Where it misleads: it measures change, not level. An excellent business that stood still for a year scores low; a poor one recovering from a disaster scores high.
Altman Z''-score
Does the balance sheet look like those of companies that went bankrupt?
3.15safe zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.13 × 6.56+0.88
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.43 × 3.26+1.39
Operating income ÷ assets 0.06 × 6.72+0.43
Equity ÷ liabilities 0.43 × 1.05+0.45
Where it misleads: buybacks. A company that returns so much cash that its equity turns small or negative sinks the last two ratios without being anywhere near bankruptcy. Banks and insurers do not fit the model at all.
Beneish M-score
Do the accounts resemble those of companies that manipulated their earnings?
-2.73below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)+0.92
Gross margin slipping 1.01+0.53
Soft assets 1.00+0.41
Sales growth 0.98+0.87
Slower depreciation 0.93+0.11
Overheads vs sales 1.01-0.17
Profit not in cash -0.05-0.23
Leverage rising 1.00-0.33
Where it misleads: fast growth and acquisitions. Sales growth carries a heavy weight, so a company growing 50% a year scores like a suspect without having done anything. It is a screen from a 1999 study, not an accusation.
Where the statements disagree
Cross-checks between the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow for the latest year, each with the benign reading and the worrying one.
Capital spending (373M) is well below depreciation (894M).
Benign
Mature assets, or a business that has become less capital-intensive.
Worrying
Under-investing: today's profit is being held up by consuming tomorrow's capacity.
What is it worth, under which assumptions?
A company is worth the cash it will generate, brought back to today. This model projects revenue with growth that fades over the years, applies a free cash flow margin, and discounts the result at the cost of capital. Every assumption says where it came from, and all of them can be changed.
Value per share, with these assumptions$49.60discounted at 10.2% a year · 49% of it from after year 10
Type a share price on the left to ask the reverse questions: what growth, what margin or what discount rate that price implies.
What the value implies, in the usual multiples
At this model's value
Price ÷ earnings
21.4×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
6.5×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
0.6×
Free cash flow yield
7.3%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today6.3B
Everything after, today6.2B
The whole business12.5B
Plus net cash1.2B
What belongs to shareholders13.7B
Divided among 276.5M shares: <strong>$49.60</strong> each.
The projection next to its history
Reported free cash flow after stock pay, then the model's. A projection that looks nothing like the past needs a reason.
ReportedProjected
01.0B2.0B3.0B
2017Reported 1.1B
2018Reported 1.4B
2019Reported 1.0B
2020Reported 668.0M
2021Reported 280.0M
2022Reported 2.3B
2023Reported 673.0M
2024Reported 627.0M
2025Reported 702.0M
2026Reported 998.0M
2027Projected 899.0M
2028Projected 937.4M
2029Projected 975.5M
2030Projected 1.0B
2031Projected 1.0B
2032Projected 1.1B
2033Projected 1.1B
2034Projected 1.2B
2035Projected 1.2B
2036Projected 1.2B
2017201920212023202520272029203120332035
Year by year
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2036
Revenue
22.7B
23.7B
24.7B
25.6B
26.5B
27.4B
28.3B
29.2B
29.9B
30.7B
Growth
4.5%
4.3%
4.1%
3.8%
3.6%
3.4%
3.2%
2.9%
2.7%
2.5%
Cash margin
4.0%
4.0%
4.0%
4.0%
4.0%
4.0%
4.0%
4.0%
4.0%
4.0%
Free cash flow
899.0M
937.4M
975.5M
1.0B
1.0B
1.1B
1.1B
1.2B
1.2B
1.2B
Worth today
816.0M
772.4M
729.5M
687.5M
646.6M
606.8M
568.2M
531.0M
495.1M
460.6M
If the least-known inputs move
Value per share as two inputs change at a time. Neighbouring cells that differ a lot are the conclusion: the value depends on numbers nobody knows to a point.
The discount rate and growth forever
discount ↓ · forever →
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
9.2%
51
54
56
60
64
9.7%
48
50
53
56
59
10.2%
46
47
50
52
55
10.7%
43
45
47
49
51
11.2%
41
43
44
46
48
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
0.5%
2.5%
4.5%
6.5%
8.5%
3.2%
37
40
43
46
49
3.6%
40
43
46
50
53
4.0%
43
46
50
53
57
4.3%
46
49
53
57
62
4.7%
48
52
56
61
65
All the inputs moving at once
5,000 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 2.0%, 1.0% and 0.5%). Not a probability — the spreads are assumptions too — but an honest picture of how wide the answer is.
10th percentile$27.65
Median$49.65
90th percentile$77.30
$25.00$50.00$75.00$100.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$37.44</b> and <b>$62.88</b>; one in ten below $27.65, one in ten above $77.30.
Does the long run make sense?
6.0×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 6.0 times that year's EBITDA.
Free growthIn year 10 free cash flow is at or above after-tax operating profit, yet the model grows 2.5% forever. Growth needs reinvestment; this assumes it comes for free, which flatters the terminal value.
49%of the value comes from after year 10. The more of it, the more the answer depends on the part nobody can see.
What lenders charge, after the tax saving on interest: 6.67% × (1 − 24.4%) = <strong>5.04%</strong>.
Weighted by how much of each the company uses (book value (no price given)): <strong>10.17%</strong>, the rate every future cash flow is discounted at.
What it has filed lately
The last twelve months at the SEC, most important first: annual and quarterly reports, events, large holders and insiders.
Every Form 4 filed in the last twelve months, read line by line: 6 filings by 6 people. Open-market purchases and sales are counted apart from awards, option exercises and shares withheld for taxes.
Bought on the open market—none in the period
Sold on the open market$667,0042 sale(s) by 2 insider(s)
Under pre-arranged plans0%of the sales followed a 10b5-1 plan set months earlier
A Form 4 says what happened, when, how many shares and at what price. It does not say why: a sale can be diversification, a tax bill or a plan fixed months earlier, and an award is pay, not a purchase. Nothing here is a reason to buy or sell anything.
Which large funds report holding it
From the Form 13F of the 28 institutions followed on this site, as of the end of their last reported quarter. A 13F is filed up to 45 days later and shows only long positions in US-listed shares.
Accounts from the company's own SEC filings; lines some companies do not report are shown as a dash rather than estimated. The risk-free rate is the 10-year US Treasury yield. A DCF is a way of making assumptions explicit, not a forecast: it states what the company would be worth if the assumptions held. The scores are screens that point where to look, not verdicts. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.