Macy's, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Feb 1, 2025

General

The Company is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware in 1985. The Company and its predecessors have been operating department stores since 1830. As of February 1, 2025, the Company operated 680 store locations in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. The Company's operations are conducted through Macy's, Macy's Backstage, Macy's small format, Bloomingdale's, Bloomingdale's The Outlet, Bloomie's, and Bluemercury. In addition, Bloomingdale's in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Al Zahra, Kuwait are operated under license agreements with Al Tayer Insignia, a company of Al Tayer Group, LLC.

The Company sells a wide range of merchandise, including apparel and accessories (men's, women's and kids'), cosmetics, home furnishings and other consumer goods. The specific assortments vary by size of store, merchandising assortments and character of customers in the trade areas. Most stores are located at urban or suburban sites, principally in densely populated areas across the United States.

Disaggregation of the Company's net sales by family of business for 2024, 2023 and 2022 was as follows:

(a) Other primarily includes restaurant sales, allowance for merchandise returns adjustments and breakage income from unredeemed gift cards.

In 2024, the Company's subsidiaries provided various support functions to the Company's retail operations on an integrated, company-wide basis.

• The Company's wholly-owned bank subsidiary, FDS Bank, provides certain collections, customer service and credit marketing services in respect of all credit card accounts that are owned either by Citibank, N.A. or FDS Bank and that constitute a part of the credit programs of the Company's retail operations.
• Macy's Systems and Technology, Inc., a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of the Company, provides operational electronic data processing and management information services to all of the Company's operations other than Bluemercury.
• Macy's Merchandising Group, Inc. (MMG), a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of the Company, and its subsidiaries Macy's Merchandising Group International, LLC and Macy's Merchandising Group Procurement, LLC, are responsible for the design and development of Macy's private label brands and certain licensed brands. Bloomingdale's uses MMG for a small portion of its private label merchandise. The Company believes that its private label merchandise differentiates its merchandise assortments from those of its competitors. MMG also offers its services, either directly or indirectly, to unrelated third parties.
• Macy's Logistics and Operations, a division of a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of the Company, provides warehousing and merchandise distribution services for the Company's operations and digital customer fulfillment.

The Company's principal executive office is located at 151 West 34th Street, New York, New York 10001, telephone number: (212) 494-1621.

Seasonality

The retail business is seasonal in nature with a high proportion of sales and operating income generated in the months of November and December. Working capital requirements fluctuate during the year, increasing in mid-summer in anticipation of the fall merchandising season and increasing substantially prior to the months of November and December when the Company carries significantly higher inventory levels.

Purchasing

The Company purchases merchandise from many suppliers, none of which accounted for more than 5% of the Company's purchases during 2024. The Company has no material long-term purchase commitments with any of its suppliers and believes that it is not dependent on any one supplier. The Company considers its relations with its suppliers to be good.

Private Label Brands and Related Trademarks

The principal private label brands offered by the Company as of February 1, 2025 include Alfani, And Now This, Aqua, Bar III, Cerulean 6, Charter Club, Club Room, Epic Threads, first impressions, Giani Bernini, Holiday Lane, Home Design, Hotel Collection, Hudson Park, Ideology, I-N-C, jenni, JM Collection, lune+aster, M-61, Maison Jules, Mode of One, Oake, On 34th, Sky, State of Day, Style & Co., Sun + Stone, The Cellar, Tools of the Trade and Wild Pair.

The trademarks associated with the Company's private label brands are owned by the Company.

Competition

The retail industry is highly competitive. The Company's operations compete with many retail formats on the national and local level, including department stores, specialty stores, general merchandise stores, manufacturers' outlets and websites, off-price and discount stores, online retailers and catalogs, among others. The Company seeks to attract customers by offering compelling, high-quality products, great prices and trusted service across all channels, including its digital platforms. Other retailers may compete for customers on some or all of these bases, or on other bases, and may be perceived by some potential customers as being better aligned with their particular preferences.

Government Regulation

We are subject to extensive and varied laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate in connection with both our core business operations and our credit card and other ancillary operations, including those relating to anti-bribery, customs, child labor, truth-in-advertising, consumer protection, zoning, occupancy, anti‑corruption and trade, anti-money laundering, import and export compliance, climate, antitrust, data privacy and data protection, employment, workplace safety, public health and safety, environmental compliance, intellectual property, transportation, and fire codes. Our policies mandate compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and we operate our business in accordance with standards and procedures designed to comply with these laws and regulations. We believe that we are in compliance with such laws and regulations in all material respects and do not expect that continued compliance with such regulations will have a material effect upon capital expenditures, earnings, or our competitive position.

Available Information

The Company makes its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) available free of charge through its internet website at https://www.macysinc.com as soon as reasonably practicable after it electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC. In addition, the Company has made the following available free of charge through its website at https://www.macysinc.com:

• Charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation and Management Development Committee, Finance Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee,
• Corporate Governance Principles,
• Lead Independent Director Policy,
• Non-Employee Director Code of Business Conduct and Ethics,
• Code of Conduct,
• Standards for Director Independence,
• Related Person Transactions Policy,
• Method to Facilitate Receipt, Retention and Treatment of Communications, and
• Proxy Access By-Laws.

Any of these items are also available in print to any shareholder who requests them. Requests should be sent to the Corporate Secretary of Macy's, Inc. at 151 West 34th Street, New York, New York 10001.

Human Capital Resources

Culture & Engagement

At Macy's Inc., we strive to be the preferred employer across our brands through an unwavering passion and commitment to our customers, communities and employees (called colleagues). The Company's workplace is guided by its social purpose, called Mission Every One, to create a brighter future for all.

The Company gathers colleague feedback at key times throughout the colleague lifecycle from onboarding to offboarding and provides regular venues for colleagues to ask questions and share their opinions, such as Ask Me Anything sessions, town halls and colleague resource groups. The Company formally solicits feedback from all colleagues through a company-wide Culture Pulse Survey. The results are shared across the organization to provide visibility to both managers (called people leaders) and colleagues, to help create opportunities for open and constructive discussions among teams and to facilitate action planning to improve the colleague experience.

Learning & Development

Macy's, Inc. believes that learning goes hand in hand with career growth, personal satisfaction and outstanding results. The Company aspires to create a learning culture where colleagues can build their skills, apply their learning to address business challenges and share their knowledge, including their experiences, to help others grow. Learning is accessible through the Company's self-directed learning experience platform as well as through technology, social learning and meaningful experiences and exposures with colleagues. In 2024, we launched LinkedIn Learning for professional colleagues, which offers courses on key skills, as another way for colleagues to invest in their growth and development.

The Company makes investments in its people leaders and future leaders. Macy's Executive Development Program and Bloomingdale's Leadership Development Program offer immersive, hands-on learning experiences for recent college graduates from top universities across the U.S. to jump-start a career in retail, with specialization in technology, digital, stores, merchandising, and supply chain. Macy's and Bloomingdale's offer internships for college students and Bloomingdale's offers an early immersion program focused on providing experiential learning and career exposure to foster inclusivity. Bluemercury's Shooting Stars is a six-month mentorship program that empowers mentees to own their journey by creating a development plan, becoming an inclusive leader and leveraging resources to support their career aspirations.

People leaders have access to robust on-demand development resources. Professional colleagues participate in a 90-day onboarding experience with performance milestones, support resources and role-specific training.

Total Rewards

Macy's, Inc. offers comprehensive benefits and an awards strategy that is designed to recognize performance and talent development. Eligible colleagues have varied medical plan options to meet individual needs. The Company provides paid time-off, parental leave and holiday pay, as well as a company 401(k) plan and match, dependent care flexible spending account and a colleague merchandise discount for eligible colleagues.

Compensation is based on job position, responsibilities, experience and performance with incentive opportunities that allow colleagues to share in the Company's success.

As part of our commitment to pay transparency, all colleagues have access to view their role's pay zone and salary range, ensuring colleagues understand their earnings potential. In addition, pay ranges are viewable on all job postings nationwide. People leaders and salaried colleagues have access to on-demand Compensation Education webinars to learn how pay is determined and to deep dive into our incentive programs.

Number of Employees

As of February 1, 2025 Macy's, Inc. had approximately 94,189 full-time and part-time U.S. employees, on a combined basis. Macy's and Bloomingdale's workforce, on a combined basis, is comprised of approximately 66% ethnically diverse colleagues (with 31% at the Director+ levels) and 73% female colleagues. Because of the seasonal nature of the retail business, the number of employees peaks during the holiday season. Approximately 7% of employees are represented by unions.

Corporate Responsibility

The Company's relationships with its customers, colleagues and the communities it serves drive a deep sense of stewardship in how the Company interacts with its stakeholders. The guiding principles of the Company's corporate responsibility strategy are:

• managing the environmental impact of its business;
• promoting positive social impact; and
• implementing strong governance practices that hold Macy's, Inc. accountable.

The Company proactively engages with its stakeholders on corporate responsibility issues that span the breadth of its operations. This includes transparency, product responsibility and supply chain and energy management. Macy's, Inc. is guided in its actions and reporting by its stakeholders and by third-party frameworks, including Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Multiline and Specialty Retailers & Distributors standard and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

The Company continues to advance its corporate responsibility strategy as it responds to evolving stakeholder expectations. Certain highlights of recent accomplishments include earning a B score on its 2024 CDP Climate Change Report covering fiscal year 2023, expanding preferred materials (as defined by the Textile Exchange) in Macy's Private Brand products managed by the Macy's Sourcing Team, and updating Chemical Policy to include Manufacturing Restricted Substance List in addition to the Restricted Substance List. We continued to drive positive change for all workers across the Macy's Private Brand value chain, through our partnership with RISE: Reimagining Industry to Support Equality, an initiative to support collaborative industry action at scale to support workers in global garment, footwear, and home-textiles supply chains. In 2024 we added 17 new factories to the program for a total of 55 since the program began in 2022.

Information about our Executive Officers

The following table sets forth certain information as of March 20, 2025 regarding the Executive Officers of the Company:

Executive Officer Biographies

Tony Spring has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Macy’s, Inc. since 2024. He previously held the role of President of Macy's, Inc. from 2023 to 2024, Executive Vice President of the Company from 2021 to 2023 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bloomingdale's from 2014 to 2023, President and Chief Operating Officer of Bloomingdale's from 2008 to 2014, Executive Vice President of Bloomingdale's from 2004 to 2008, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Bloomingdale's from 1998 to 2004 and held various other roles within the Bloomingdale's organization from 1987 to 1998 where he assumed positions of increasing responsibility in the home furnishings area before being promoted to Senior Vice President for home furnishings.

Adrian V. Mitchell has served as Chief Operating Officer of the Company since 2023 and has been Chief Financial Officer of the Company since 2020; prior thereto he served as a Managing Director and Partner in the Digital BCG and Consumer Practices of Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, from 2017 to 2020, Chief Executive Officer of Arhaus LLC, a retail chain that designs and sells home furnishings, from 2016 to 2017, in various executive positions at Crate and Barrel Holdings, Inc. from 2010 to 2015 including interim CEO, Chief Operating & Chief Financial Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and in management positions at Target Corporation from 2007 to 2010 including Director of Strategy & Interactive Design for target.com and Director of Innovation & Productivity leading company-wide projects for Target Corporation.

Danielle L. Kirgan has served as Chief Human Resources Officer since 2017, served as Chief Transformation Officer from 2020 to 2023 and was appointed Chief Corporate Affairs Officer in 2024; prior thereto she served as Senior Vice President, People at American Airlines Group, Inc. from 2016 to 2017, Chief Human Resources Officer at Darden Restaurants, Inc. from 2015 to 2016 and Senior Vice President from 2010, Vice President, Global Human Resources at ACI Worldwide, Inc. in 2009, and Vice President, Human Resources at Conagra Foods, Inc. from 2004 to 2008.

Tracy M. Preston has served as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company since 2024; prior thereto she served as Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of HanesBrands Inc., an apparel company, from 2021 to 2023, Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Neiman Marcus Group, Inc., a retail company, from 2013 to 2021, Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Global Litigation and HR Counsel and Chief Counsel, Global Supply Chain of Levi Strauss & Co. from 2002 to 2013, Partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, a law firm, from 1997 to 2002, and held various positions at several law firms from 1991 to 1997.

Olivier Bron has served as Chief Executive Officer, Bloomingdale’s since 2023; prior thereto he served as Chief Executive Officer of Central Group and Robinson Department Stores, Thailand, from 2021 to 2023, Chief Operating Officer of Galeries Lafayette/BHV Marais, a luxury French department store chain from 2018 to 2021 and Director of Strategy from 2014 to 2018, and Principal at Bain & Company, a management consulting firm, from 2002 to 2014.

Paul Griscom has served as Senior Vice President and Controller of the Company since 2020; prior thereto he served as Vice President and interim Principal Accounting Officer in 2020, Vice President, Financial Reporting and Accounting Services from 2019 to 2020, Vice President, Financial Reporting from 2017 to 2019, Director of Financial Reporting from 2016 to 2017, Director, Training & Products, GAAP Dynamics from 2012 to 2016 and held various positions at KPMG LLP from 2000 to 2012.

In evaluating the Company, the risks described below and the matters described under “Forward-Looking Statements” should be considered carefully. Such risks and matters are numerous and diverse, may be experienced continuously or intermittently, and may vary in intensity and effect. Although the risks are organized by heading, and each risk is described separately, many of the risks are interrelated. Any of such risks and matters, individually or in combination, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, as well as on the attractiveness and value of an investment in the Company's securities. You should not interpret the disclosure of any risk factor to imply that the risk has not already materialized. While we believe we have identified and discussed below the key risk factors affecting our business, there may be additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known or that are not currently believed to be significant that may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows in the future.

Strategic, Operational and Competitive Risks

Our strategic plans and initiatives may not be successful, which could negatively affect our profitability and growth.

In 2024, we announced the A Bold New Chapter, a strategy designed to return the Company to enterprise growth, unlock shareholder value, improve the omni-channel experience and better serve its customers. The three-year strategy focuses on three strategic priorities:

• Strengthen and reimagine Macy's nameplate through rationalizing the store base by closing and monetizing approximately 150 underperforming stores and prioritizing investment in approximately 350 go-forward stores, launching the First 50 Stores, revitalizing merchandise assortment, and growing digital;
• Accelerate and differentiate luxury by expanding Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury within the Macy's, Inc. nameplate portfolio; and
• Simplify and modernize end-to-end operations through rationalizing and monetizing the supply chain asset portfolio, streamlining fulfillment, improving inventory planning and allocation, and delivering a modern, scalable technology platform.

We plan to make value-enhancing investments to support these initiatives primarily focused on digital and technology, data and analytics, supply chain modernization and omni-channel capabilities. These initiatives have required and will continue to require our management, colleagues, and contractors to make changes in our business operations and to improve productivity and profitability, and are subject to the ability to attract and retain skilled personnel to support the initiatives. We face challenges in executing the A Bold New Chapter strategy and initiatives in the current environment of heightened inflation, increased interest rates, economic uncertainty, geopolitical disruption and other macroeconomic conditions that may impact discretionary spending. Our ability to achieve sustainable, profitable growth is subject to the successful implementation of our strategic plans and realization of anticipated benefits and savings. If we are unable to successfully execute our strategic plans and initiatives to achieve the intended results or these investments or initiatives do not perform as expected or create implementation or operational challenges, our profitability and growth could suffer.

We may not timely identify or effectively respond to consumer needs, expectations, or trends, which could adversely affect our relationship with customers, the demand for our products and services, and our market share.

The success of our business depends in part on our ability to identify and respond to evolving trends in demographics, shifts in consumer preferences, expectations and needs, unexpected weather conditions, public health issues or natural disasters, while also managing appropriate inventory levels in our stores and distribution or fulfillment centers and maintaining an excellent customer experience. It is difficult to successfully predict the products and services our customers will demand. As customers expect a more personalized experience, our ability to collect, use and protect relevant customer data is important to our ability to effectively meet their expectations, but is subject to the impact of legislation or regulations governing data privacy, security and other external factors. Customer preferences and expectations related to sustainability of products and operations are also increasing. If we do not successfully differentiate the shopping experience to meet the individual needs and expectations of or within a customer group, we may lose market share with respect to those customers.

Our sales and operating results depend on our ability to manage our inventory, merchandise selection and protect against inventory shortage.

Our profitability depends on our ability to manage inventory levels and merchandise selection. Overestimating customer demand for merchandise can result in the need to record unplanned and incremental inventory discounts or liquidations and sell excess inventory at clearance prices, which would negatively impact our gross margins and operating results. Underestimating customer demand for merchandise can lead to insufficient inventory to meet demands, missed sales opportunities and negative customer experiences. If we are unable to protect against inventory shortage, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

The Company faces significant competition and challenges as consumers continue to migrate to other shopping channels and depends on its ability to differentiate itself in retail's ever-changing environment.

We conduct our retail merchandising business under highly competitive conditions. Although Macy's, Inc. is one of the nation's largest retailers, we have numerous and varied competitors at the national and local levels and digital competitors at the global level, including department stores, specialty stores, general merchandise stores, manufacturers' outlets and websites, off-price and discount stores, online retailers and catalogs, among others. Competition is characterized by many factors, including assortment, advertising, price, quality, service, location, reputation and credit availability. Any failure by us to compete effectively could negatively affect our business and results of operations.

We face pressures to not only compete from a price perspective with our competitors, some of whom sell the same products, but also to differentiate Macy's, Inc.'s merchandise offerings, services and shopping experiences to stay relevant as a modern department store in retail's ever-changing environment. Macy's launched On 34th and State of Day, new private brands, in 2023 and 2024, respectively, refreshed I.N.C. and Style & Co. brands in 2023 through 2024, and expects to refresh or replace all existing brands in its private brands portfolio through 2025. Macy's digital marketplace offers a variety of brands from third party sellers and the Company launched a Bloomingdale's marketplace in 2023 to introduce customers to new merchandise options. We continue to invest in our omni-channel capabilities, focusing on search engine optimization, site enhancements, and more transparent pricing, and seek to improve the customer experience through faster online delivery and higher product in-stocks. Insufficient, untimely or misguided investments in these areas could significantly impact our profitability and growth.

In addition, a significant decline in customer store traffic or migration of sales from brick-and-mortar stores to digital platforms could lead to additional store closures, restructuring and other costs that could adversely impact our results of operations and cash flows.

Our ability to grow depends in part on our stores remaining relevant and attractive to customers.

We launched the First 50 Stores as a key component of the Bold New Chapter strategy to test initiatives such as focused staffing in key departments, enhanced merchandise offerings, modern visual presentations and unique store-level activations and community events. We have opened new off-mall smaller store formats – Macy's small format, Bloomie's and Bloomingdale's the Outlet – in selected markets. In 2022, we introduced permanent Toys “R” Us shops within all Macy's locations. While these store investments, off-mall store formats, and in-store shops are intended to improve the customer store experience and drive traffic, realization of these benefits may not occur.

Because we rely on the ability of our physical retail locations to attract customers, provide full or curated merchandise selections, drive traffic to digital channels and assist in fulfillment, returns and other omni-channel functions, providing a desirable and sought-out shopping experience is important to our financial success. Changes in consumer shopping habits, continued decline in mall shopping environments, financial difficulties at other anchor tenants, significant mall vacancy issues, mall violence and new on- and off-mall developments could each adversely impact the traffic at current retail locations and lead to a decline in our financial condition or performance.

We may not be able to successfully execute our real estate strategy.

We continue to explore opportunities to monetize our real estate portfolio, including sales of stores as well as non-store real estate, such as warehouses, outparcels and parking garages. We also continue to evaluate our real estate portfolio to identify opportunities where the redevelopment value of our real estate exceeds the value of non-strategic operating locations. This strategy is multi-pronged and may include transactions, strategic alliances or other arrangements with mall developers or other unrelated third-parties. Where feasible, we may subdivide an existing parcel, continue to operate a store and redevelop any excess parcel for mixed-use, or close the store and redevelop an entire parcel into a mixed-use development, in either event selling the parcel once the site development plan is approved by governmental authorities. Due to the cyclical nature of real estate markets and the risks of real estate development, the performance of our real estate strategy is inherently volatile and could have a significant impact on our results of operations or financial condition.

Our revenues and cash requirements are affected by the seasonal nature of our business.

Our business is seasonal, with a high proportion of revenues and operating cash flows generated during the second half of the year, which includes the fall and the months of November and December. A disproportionate amount of our revenues is realized in the fourth quarter due to this seasonality. Should sales during this period fall below our expectations, a disproportionately negative impact on our annual results of operations could occur.

We generally incur significant additional expenses in the period leading up to the months of November and December in anticipation of higher sales volume in those periods, including costs for additional inventory, advertising and employees. If we are not successful in executing our sales strategy during this period, we may have to sell the inventory at significantly reduced prices or may not be able to sell the inventory at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows.

We depend on our ability to attract, train, develop and retain quality colleagues.

Our business is dependent upon attracting, training, developing and retaining quality employees at all levels of the organization, and management personnel to develop and effectively execute successful business strategies. Macy's, Inc. has a large number of employees, many of whom are in entry level or part-time positions with historically high rates of turnover. Our ability to meet labor needs while controlling costs associated with hiring and training new employees is subject to external factors such as unemployment levels, prevailing wage rates, minimum wage legislation and changing demographics. In recent years, low unemployment, labor shortages, intense competition for talent and a competitive wage environment have impacted our ability to attract, recruit and retain talent.

Increases in labor costs and the cost of employee benefits could impact our financial results and cash flow.

Minimum wage increases by states and wage and benefit increases to attract and retain workers in a tight labor market have increased labor costs in the retail sector. These increased costs pressure our margins and could have a negative impact on our financial results.

Our expenses relating to employee health benefits are significant. Medical plan cost increases have been driven by factors such as a rise in high-cost claimants, high-cost conditions, high utilization of outpatient facilities, physicians and in-hospital stays, and demographic shifts to an older enrollment population. Unfavorable changes in the cost of employee health benefits could negatively affect our financial results and cash flow.

If revenue from our private label and co-branded credit cards decline, our financial and operational results may be negatively impacted.

In 2005, in connection with the sale of most of the Company's credit card accounts and related receivable balances to Citibank, N.A. (Citibank), the Company and Citibank entered into a long-term marketing and servicing alliance pursuant to the terms of a Credit Card Program Agreement (Credit Card Program). Subsequent to this initial arrangement and associated amendments, on December 13, 2021, the Company entered into the sixth amendment to the amended and restated Credit Card Program with Citibank (the Program Agreement), pursuant to which Citibank issues, maintains and services Macy's and Bloomingdale's private label and co-branded credit cards. Under the Program Agreement, which extends until March 31, 2030, Citibank owns the credit card receivables generated from sales through the credit cards and the Company receives fees and shares in profits based on a tiered return on the receivables portfolio net of program expenses. Credit card revenues, net were $537 million, or approximately 2.4% of net sales, for 2024. Deterioration in economic conditions could adversely affect the volume of new credit accounts, the amount of credit card program balances and the ability of credit card holders to pay their balances. These conditions could result in the Company receiving lower payments under the credit card program.

In addition, shifts from sales through our proprietary credit cards to debit products and alternative buy-now-pay-later payment methods may result in increased costs and could have a negative impact to credit card revenues due to potentially reduced credit card receivable balances.

Credit card operations are subject to many federal and state laws that may impose certain requirements and limitations on credit card providers. Citibank and our subsidiary bank, FDS Bank, may be required to comply with regulations that may negatively impact the operation of our proprietary credit card. This negative impact may affect our revenue streams derived from the credit cards receivables portfolio and our financial results.

In March 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to amend Regulation Z to lower the safe harbor dollar amount credit card companies can charge for late fees from up to $41 to $8 for a missed payment. The rule has been stayed as a result of ongoing litigation. A decrease in late fees assessed would reduce credit card revenue. The Company is closely monitoring developments on this matter.

Our defined benefit plan funding requirements or plan settlement expense could impact our financial results and cash flow.

Significant changes in interest rates, decreases in the fair value of plan assets and timing and amount of benefit payments could affect the funded status of our plans and could increase future funding requirements of the plans. A significant increase in future funding requirements could have a negative impact on our cash flows, financial condition or results of operations.

These plans allow eligible retiring employees to receive lump sum distributions of benefits earned. Under applicable accounting rules, if annual lump sum distributions exceed an actuarially determined threshold of the total of the annual service and interest costs, we would be required to recognize in the current period of operations a settlement expense of a portion of the unrecognized actuarial loss, which could have a negative impact on our results of operations.

If our Company's reputation and brand image are not maintained at a high level, our operations and financial results may suffer.

We believe our reputation and brand image are partially based on the perception that we act equitably and honestly in dealing with our customers, employees, business partners and shareholders. Our reputation and brand image may be deteriorated by any incident that erodes the trust or confidence of our customers or the general public, particularly if the incident results in significant adverse publicity or governmental inquiry. Information about us, whether or not true, may be instantly posted on social media platforms at any time, which could adversely impact our reputation or brand image. The harm could be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction. Other brand risks include an active shooter incident at a location or injury or death at a parade or other branded event. If our reputation or brand image is damaged, our customers may refuse to continue shopping with us, potential employees may be unwilling to work for us, business partners may be discouraged from seeking future business dealings with us and, as a result, our business and results of operations may suffer.

If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, our brands and business could be damaged.

We believe that our copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, trade secrets and similar intellectual property are important assets and key elements of our strategy, including those related to our private brand merchandise. We rely on copyright and trademark law, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, vendors and others to protect our proprietary rights. If the steps we take to protect our proprietary rights are inadequate, or if we are unable to protect or preserve the value of our copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and other proprietary rights for any reason, our merchandise brands and business could be negatively affected.

Infrastructure Risks

Unforeseen disruptions in our distribution and fulfillment centers could have an adverse impact on our business and operations.

Our business depends on the orderly receipt and distribution of merchandise and effective management of our distribution and fulfillment centers. Unforeseen disruptions in operations due to fire, severe weather conditions (including those that may be caused by climate change), natural disasters, health pandemics or other catastrophic events, labor disagreements, or other shipping problems may result in the loss or unavailability of inventory and/or delays in the delivery of merchandise to our stores, fulfillment centers and customers.

Failure of a key information technology system or process could adversely affect our business.

We rely extensively on information technology systems and related personnel to collect, analyze, process, store, manage, transmit and protect transactions and data. Some of these systems are managed or provided by third-party service providers, including certain cloud platform providers. In managing our business, we also rely heavily on the integrity and security of, and consistent access to, this operational and financial data for information such as sales, customer data, employee data, demand forecasting, merchandise ordering, inventory replenishment, supply chain management, payment processing, order fulfillment, customer service, and post-purchase matters. For these information technology systems, applications and processes to operate effectively, we or our service providers must maintain and update them. Delays in the maintenance, updates, upgrading or patching of these systems, applications or processes could impair, and on occasion have impaired, their effectiveness or expose us to security risks.

Our systems and the third-party systems with which we interact are subject to, and on occasion have experienced, damage or interruption from a number of causes, including power and other critical infrastructure outages, computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, security breaches, internal or external data theft or misuse, cyberattacks, responsive containment measures by us that may involve voluntarily taking systems off line, natural disasters and catastrophic events such as fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes or other extreme weather events, public health concerns such as pandemics, military conflicts, acts of war, terrorism or civil unrest, other systems outages, inadequate or ineffective redundancy, and design or usage errors or malfeasance by our employees, contractors or third-party service providers. Although we and our third-party service providers seek to maintain our respective systems effectively and to successfully address the risk of compromise of the integrity, security and consistent operations of these systems, these efforts are not always successful. As a result, we or our service providers could experience errors, interruptions, delays or cessations of service in key portions of our information technology infrastructure, which could significantly disrupt our operations or impair data security, impact our ability to operate or access communications, financial or banking systems, be costly, time consuming and resource-intensive to remedy and adversely impact our reputation and relationship with customers, suppliers, shareholders or regulators.

We are making, and expect to continue to make, substantial investments in our information technology systems, infrastructure and personnel, in some cases with the assistance of strategic partners and other third-party service providers. These investments involve replacing existing systems, some of which are older, legacy systems, outsourcing certain technology and business processes to third-party service providers, including the adoption of Generative artificial intelligence ("AI") in certain processes, making changes to existing systems including the migration of applications to the cloud, maintaining or enhancing legacy systems, or designing or acquiring new systems. These efforts can result in significant potential risks, including failure of the systems to operate as designed, potential loss or corruption of data, changes in security processes and internal controls, cost overruns, implementation delays or errors and disruption of operations.

AI creates business, legal and ethical challenges.

We use AI as a tool designed to improve customer experience and operational efficiency. AI tools assist us in areas such as customer service, supply chain, personalization, coding, human resources queries, security, marketing and advertising. We include AI in our annual compliance training and maintain guidelines requiring internal review and approval for certain AI tools. Even with careful governance, use of AI can produce incorrect output, release private or confidential information, reflect biases, or violate intellectual property rights. These risks could have adverse business, legal or regulatory impact or harm our reputation.

Disruptions in our customer-facing technology systems could impair our digital retail strategy and give rise to negative customer experiences.

Through our information technology systems, we are able to provide an improved overall shopping experience that empowers our customers to shop and interact with us from a variety of electronic devices and digital platforms. We use our digital platforms as sales channels for our products and services, as methods of providing inspiration and advertising through Macy's Media Network, and as sources of product and other relevant information to our customers to help drive sales. We also have multiple online communities, digital platforms and knowledge centers that allow us to inform, assist and interact with our customers. The retail industry is continually evolving and expanding, with a significant increase in sales initiated online and via mobile applications. We must effectively respond to new developments and changing customer preferences with respect to a digital and interconnected experience. We continually seek to enhance our online and digital properties to provide an attractive, user-friendly interface for our customers. Disruptions, delays, failures or other performance issues with these customer-facing technology systems, or a failure of these systems to meet our or our customers' expectations, could impair the benefits they provide to our business and negatively affect our relationship with our customers and, as a result, our financial performance and results of operations.

Information Security, Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Management Risks

A breach of our information technology systems could adversely affect our reputation, business partner and customer relationships and operations, and result in higher costs.

Through our sales, marketing activities, and use of third-party information, we collect and store certain non-public personal information that customers provide to purchase products or services, enroll in promotional programs, register on websites, or otherwise communicate to us. This may include phone numbers, driver license numbers, contact preferences, personal information stored on electronic devices, and payment information, including credit and debit card data. We gather and retain information about employees in the normal course of business. We may share sensitive Company data with vendors that assist with certain aspects of our business, such as social media and data analytics firms. In addition, our digital operations depend upon the transmission of confidential information over the internet, such as information permitting cashless payments.

We employ safeguards for the protection of this information and have made significant investments to secure access to our information technology network, the importance of which has increased due to many of our colleagues working remotely. For instance, we have implemented authentication protocols, installed firewalls and anti-virus/anti-malware software, established data security breach preparedness and response plans, conduct continuous risk assessments, and mitigate software vulnerability with security patches. We also employ encryption and other methods to protect our data, promote security awareness with our employees and work with business partners in an effort to create secure and compliant systems.

Protections we have in place to safeguard this information may be compromised as a result of third-party security breaches, theft, cyberattacks, including the use of malicious codes, worms, phishing, spyware, denial of service attacks and ransomware errors by employees or employees of third-party vendors, or contractors, misappropriation of data by employees, vendors or unaffiliated third-parties, or other irregularities that may result in persons obtaining unauthorized access to Company data.

Retail data frequently targeted by cybercriminals includes consumer credit card data, personally identifiable information, including social security numbers, and health care information. For retailers, point of sale and e-commerce websites are often attacked through compromised credentials, including those obtained through phishing, vishing and credential stuffing. Other methods of attack include advanced malware, the exploitation of software and operating vulnerabilities, and physical device tampering/skimming at card reader units. We believe these attack methods will continue to evolve. In addition, AI tools may provide hackers with more sophisticated methods of cyberattacks.

Cyber threats are increasing in scope, sophistication and frequency and bad actors are exploiting vulnerabilities to gain access to networks for the purpose of implementing ransomware, which is used to encrypt and steal data both from main and backup systems and causes public-facing business interruptions. Our ability to react, mitigate and restore services from an interruption of our systems and processes is key to avoiding adverse financial impacts resulting from loss of sales, services and the cost of paying a ransom.

Remote work has also created additional challenges to our ability to protect remote workers, corporate networks and cloud environments. We are identifying, tracking and mitigating advanced phishing, malware and attempted credential compromises daily. These attacks are typically occurring on home networks and migrate to the corporate network. However, despite instituting controls for the protection of information, the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service change frequently and our systems and networks may nevertheless remain vulnerable to threats and attacks. To date, no cybersecurity incident or attack has had a material impact on our business or results of operations. Unauthorized parties may attempt to gain access to our systems or facilities, or those of third parties with whom we do business, through fraud, trickery, or other forms of deception to employees, contractors, vendors and temporary staff. During the normal course of business, we have experienced and expect to continue to experience attempts to compromise our information systems. We may be unable to protect the integrity of our systems or company data. An alleged or actual unauthorized access or unauthorized disclosure of non-public personal information could:

• materially damage our reputation and brand, negatively affect customer satisfaction and loyalty, expose us to individual claims or consumer class actions, administrative, civil or criminal investigations or actions, and infringe on proprietary information; and
• cause us to incur substantial costs, including costs associated with remediation of information technology systems, customer protection costs and incentive payments for the maintenance of business relationships, litigation costs, lost revenues resulting from negative changes in consumer shopping patterns, unauthorized use of proprietary information or the failure to retain or attract customers following an attack. While we maintain insurance coverage that may, subject to policy terms and conditions, cover certain aspects of cyber risks, such insurance coverage may be unavailable or insufficient to cover all losses or all types of claims that may arise in the continually evolving area of cyber risk.

Supply Chain and Third-Party Risks

We depend on vendors and other sources of merchandise, goods and services outside the U.S. Our business has been and could in the future continue to be affected by disruptions in, or other legal, regulatory, political, economic or public health issues associated with, our supply network.

We depend on vendors for timely and efficient access to products we sell. We source the majority of our merchandise from manufacturers located outside the U.S., primarily Asia. In the normal course of business, we provide credit enhancement to our vendors to support accounts receivable factoring and financing with third parties. Current economic conditions may adversely impact our vendors and they may be unable to access financing or become insolvent and unable to supply us with products, or we may be required to increase cash collateral levels or provide guarantees to support our vendors' financing arrangements. Any major changes in tax policy, such as the disallowance of tax deductions for imported merchandise could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and liquidity.

We have experienced delays in merchandise inventory receipts and product delivery due to a shortage of vessels and air freight, port congestion, worker shortage impacting shipping and ports, truck driver shortages, rail congestion at major freight hubs and increased demand for consumer goods. Although these delays have not materially impacted our operations to date, they could potentially have a material adverse impact on future product availability, product mix and sales if the delays escalate. We have also experienced increases in shipping rates from Trans-Pacific ocean carriers due to increases in spot market rates and shortage of shipping capacity from China and other parts of Asia and increases in trucking costs due to truck driver shortages and fuel costs.

The procurement of all our goods and services is subject to the effects of price increases, which we may or may not be able to pass through to our customers. Our procurement of goods and services from outside the U.S. is subject to risks associated with political or financial instability, trade restrictions, tariffs, currency exchange rates, transport capacity and costs, health pandemics, armed conflicts and other factors relating to foreign trade. All of these factors may affect our ability to access suitable merchandise on acceptable terms, are beyond our control and could negatively affect our business and results of operations.

We source certain of our private label products from factories in China, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Jordan and other countries. Since 2017, the U.S. and China have been engaged in a trade dispute that has involved a number of actions against China including the imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports; sanctions on Chinese military-industrial complex companies; stricter reviews of direct investments in the U.S. by Chinese companies; and detention by U.S. Customs of products made in Xinjiang involving alleged human rights violations, which have or may prompt countersanctions or other retaliatory actions from the Chinese government. In addition, differing policies on China–Taiwan and the Russia–Ukraine war have further strained relations between the countries. These geopolitical, trade and investment tensions have created additional uncertainty and increased risk in doing business in China, including potential supply disruptions and higher costs of our products sourced or imported from China.

On February 1, 2025, President Trump issued executive orders imposing a 25% tariff on products imported from Canada and Mexico (initially suspended for 30 days) and a 10% tariff on products imported from China, effective February 4, 2025. An additional 10% increase in the China tariffs became effective March 4, 2025. Tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico became effective March 4, 2025, but were later subject to broad exemptions effective March 7, 2025. While previous tariffs on Chinese goods and modifications to trade agreements have not resulted in a material impact on our business, results of operations, and liquidity to date, these new tariffs or any additional actions, such as "reciprocal" tariffs on U.S. trading partners to address trade imbalances, could negatively impact our ability and the ability of our third-party vendors and suppliers to source products from foreign jurisdictions, which could lead to an increase in the cost of goods and adversely affect the Company's profitability. Tariffs passed on to consumers through higher prices can also negatively impact consumer confidence and discretionary spending.

We continue to evaluate the impact of currently effective tariffs, including potential future retaliatory tariffs, as well as other recent changes in foreign trade policy and the U.S. Administration on our supply chain, costs, sales and profitability, and are working through strategies to mitigate such impact, including reviewing sourcing options and working with our vendors and merchants. At this time, it is unknown how long U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will remain in effect or whether additional tariffs will be imposed. Depending upon their duration and implementation, as well as our ability to mitigate their impact, these changes in foreign trade policy and any recently enacted, proposed and future tariffs on products imported by us from China, as well as general uncertainty in the tariff environment, could negatively impact our business, results of operations and liquidity if they seriously disrupt the movement of products through our supply chain or increase their cost.

If our vendors, or any raw material vendors on which our vendors or our private label business relies, suffer prolonged manufacturing or transportation disruptions due to public health conditions or other unforeseen events, our ability to source product could be adversely impacted which would adversely affect our results of operations.

Disruption of global sourcing activities and quality and other concerns over our own brands could negatively impact brand reputation and earnings.

Economic and civil unrest in areas of the world where we source products, as well as shipping and dockage issues, could adversely impact the availability or cost of our products, or both. Most of the Company's goods imported to the U.S. arrive from Asia through ports located on the U.S. west coast and are subject to potential disruption due to labor unrest or shortages, security issues or natural disasters affecting any or all of these ports. In addition, in recent years, we have increased the number and types of merchandise that are sold under the Company's proprietary brands. While we have focused on the quality of our private brand products, we rely on third-parties to manufacture these products. Such third-party manufacturers may prove to be unreliable, the quality of our globally sourced products may vary from expectations and standards, the products may not meet applicable regulatory requirements which may require us to recall these products, or the products may infringe upon the intellectual property rights of third-parties. We face challenges in seeking indemnities from manufacturers of these products, including the uncertainty of recovering on such indemnity.

We also face concerns relating to human rights, working conditions and other labor rights, and conditions and environmental impact in factories or countries where merchandise that we sell is produced, as well as concerns about transparent sourcing and supply chains. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to facilitate compliance with laws and regulations relating to production of merchandise, doing business in foreign countries and importing merchandise, and to screen, train and monitor our private label vendors to confirm safe and ethical treatment of workers in our supply chain, there can be no assurance that our vendors and other third parties with whom we do business will not violate such laws and regulations or our policies, which could lead to reputational harm and could expose us to litigation, investigations, enforcement actions, monetary liability and additional costs that could adversely impact our reputation, results of operations and business.

Material disruptions in relationships with third-parties with whom the Company does business could adversely affect its operations.

The Company is a party to contracts, transactions and business relationships with various third parties, including suppliers, service providers, lenders and participants in joint ventures, strategic alliances and other commercial relationships. In some cases, we depend upon such third parties to provide products, services, advertising, technology infrastructure, development and support, data analytics, logistics, other goods and services to operate our business in the ordinary course, extensions of credit, credit card accounts and related receivables, and other matters. Furthermore, third-party vendors may sell products directly to consumers in addition to, or in some cases in lieu of, traditional wholesale channels such as independent stores and retail chains. As our business model depends on offering quality and relevant merchandise brands from third-party vendors in addition to our own private label products, any material disruption in our relationship with such vendors, or material disruption in the products or services provided by other third parties, could adversely affect our revenues, expense structure, earnings and operations.

Economic, Global, Legal and External Risks

The Company's business is subject to discretionary consumer spending, unfavorable economic and political conditions, and other related risks.

Our sales are significantly affected by changes in discretionary spending by consumers. Consumer spending may be affected by many factors outside of our control, including general economic conditions, consumer disposable income levels, consumer confidence levels, the availability, cost and level of consumer debt, consumer behaviors towards incurring and paying debt, the cost of basic necessities and other goods, the strength of the U.S. Dollar relative to foreign currencies and the effects of the weather, natural disasters or health pandemics. These factors can have psychological or economic impacts on consumers that affect their discretionary spending habits. Any decline in discretionary spending by consumers could negatively affect our business and results of operations.

Unfavorable global, domestic or regional economic or political conditions and other developments and risks could negatively affect our business and results of operations. For example, unfavorable changes related to interest rates, rates of economic growth, fiscal and monetary policies of governments, inflation, deflation, tax rates and policy, unemployment trends, energy prices, and other matters that influence the availability and cost of merchandise, consumer confidence, spending and tourism could negatively affect our business and results of operations. Unstable political conditions, civil unrest, terrorist activities, armed conflicts or events of extreme violence, including any escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, may disrupt commerce and could negatively affect our business and results of operations.

We regularly maintain cash balances at third-party financial institutions in excess of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) insurance limit. The FDIC took control and was appointed receiver of Silicon Valley Bank and New York Signature Bank in March 2023, and JPMorgan Chase Bank assumed all deposits and substantially all assets of First Republic Bank in May 2023. The Company did not have any direct exposure to these banks. However, if other banks and financial institutions enter receivership or become insolvent in the future in response to financial conditions affecting the banking system and financial markets, our ability to access our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments, or to draw on our existing lines of credit, may be threatened and could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

Our business could be materially adversely affected by extreme weather conditions, natural disasters or regional or global health pandemics.

Extreme weather conditions, including those that may be caused by climate change, in the areas in which our stores are located could negatively affect our business and results of operations. For example, frequent or unusually heavy snowfall, ice storms, rainstorms, wildfires or other extreme weather conditions over a prolonged period could make it difficult for our customers to travel to our stores and thereby reduce our sales and profitability. Our business is also susceptible to unseasonable weather conditions. For example, extended periods of unseasonably warm temperatures during the winter season or cool weather during the summer season could reduce demand for a portion of our inventory and thereby reduce our sales and profitability. In addition, extreme weather conditions could result in disruption or delay of production and delivery of materials and products in our supply chain and cause staffing shortages in our stores.

Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes, or a combination of these or other factors, could damage or destroy our facilities or make it difficult for customers to travel to our stores, thereby negatively affecting our business and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the retail industry, including our business. Should we experience a regional or global pandemic or other public health crisis, including from a COVID-19 variant, influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, other microorganism, infectious disease or other cause, it could have a significant negative impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Litigation, legislation, regulatory developments or non-compliance could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We are subject to various federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations, inquiries and initiatives in connection with both our core business operations and our credit card and other ancillary operations (including the Credit Card Act of 2009 and the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933). Recent and future developments relating to such matters could increase our compliance costs and adversely affect the profitability of our credit card and other operations. Our effective tax rate is impacted by a number of factors, including changes in federal or state tax law, interpretation of existing laws and the ability to defend and support the tax positions taken on historical tax returns. Certain changes in any of these factors could materially impact the Company's effective tax rate and net income. The Inflation Reduction Act, enacted on August 16, 2022, includes a number of provisions that may impact the Company, including a corporate alternative minimum tax on certain large corporations, incentives to address climate change mitigation and other non-income tax provisions, including an excise tax on the repurchase of our stock.

We are also subject to anti-bribery, customs, child labor, truth-in-advertising and other laws, including consumer protection regulations and zoning and occupancy ordinances that regulate retailers generally and/or govern the importation, promotion and sale of merchandise and the operation of retail stores and warehouse facilities. Although we undertake to monitor changes in these laws, if these laws change without our knowledge, or are violated by importers, designers, manufacturers, distributors or agents, we could experience delays in shipments and receipt of goods or be subject to fines or other penalties under the controlling regulations, any of which could negatively affect our business and results of operations. In addition, we are regularly involved in various litigation matters that arise in the ordinary course of our business. Adverse outcomes in current or future litigation could negatively affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Changes in applicable environmental regulations, including increased or additional regulations to limit carbon emissions or other greenhouse gases may result in increased compliance costs, capital expenditures and other financial obligations which could affect our profitability.

In addition, our business is subject to complex and rapidly evolving laws addressing data privacy and data protection and companies are under increased regulatory scrutiny with respect to these matters. The Federal Trade Commission and many state attorneys general are interpreting federal and state consumer protection laws to impose standards for the online collection, use, dissemination and security of data. The interpretation and application of existing laws regarding data privacy and data protection are in flux and many states are considering new regulations in this area. Data privacy laws enacted in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia (as of June 2024) and other applicable U.S. privacy laws or new state or federal laws may limit our ability to collect and use data, require us to modify our data processing practices or result in the possibility of fines, litigation or orders which may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. The burdens imposed by these and other laws and regulations that may be enacted, or new interpretations of existing laws and regulations, may also require us to incur substantial costs to reach compliance or change the manner in which we use data.

Climate Change-Related Risks

Climate change, or legal, regulatory, or market measures to address climate change, could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We have identified certain climate change-related risks that have impacted or may in the future impact our business over the short-, medium- and long-term. The nature of these risks depends on both the physical aspects of climate change as well as legal, regulatory, and market requirements, pressure to reduce our carbon footprint and our ability to understand and respond to rapidly evolving developments. Climate change and related measures could have adverse impacts on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations, including, but not limited to:

• Regulatory Risks. Macy’s, Inc. may be subject to more robust and nuanced compliance measures in any of the markets in which we operate, which may require us to gather new data and externally publish additional environmental information, creating incremental costs. This cost burden could also include potential penalties for noncompliance resulting from enforcement of regulatory requirements such as the SEC final climate disclosure rules (voluntarily stayed pending completion of judicial review of consolidated challenges to the rules by the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit) and the new California climate laws, SB-253 (reporting of Scopes 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions) and SB-261 (climate-related risk report). Macy’s, Inc. will incur costs to comply with these regulatory requirements, including environmental advisory/consulting services for emissions management and reporting.

As part of our Enterprise Risk Management process, Macy’s, Inc. currently monitors environmental and climate-related regulations at the state and federal level. We are focused on transparent reporting to demonstrate climate progress, build trust, and strengthen accountability. Measures include annual disclosure to CDP Climate Change survey and publishing a Corporate Responsibility Report that uses the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) standards. Macy's, Inc. also regularly updates its macysinc.com/purpose website to reflect changes in initiatives, such as publishing a Corporate Responsibility Report and new and updated policies.

• Reputational Risk. Macy's, Inc. internal stakeholders (colleagues and members of the Board of Directors) or external stakeholders (investors, customers, advocacy groups) expressing concern through public platforms that increase colleague turnover, stall strategic direction and/or limit funding avenues, thereby reducing revenue, having negative impacts on workforce management and planning (such as colleague attraction and retention) or slowing/stopping investments.

Maintaining our Company's reputation and brand image at a high level is critical to our operations and financial results. Reputational risk in relation to climate-related issues encompasses both supply chain issues and our position and progress toward cleaner energy production and consumption. We rely upon a diverse, global network of suppliers and vendors within our supply chain that may expose us to risks from a reputational and brand perspective. Macy's private brands supply chain is and will continue to be impacted by climate change related weather events that may cause supply disruptions.

We face increasing pressure to demonstrate our products are environmentally-friendly. Our efforts to mitigate that risk include using materials or processes that are third-party certified for environmentally-friendly attributes like OEKO-TEX® as well as U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol (USCTP) which provides traceable and preferred cotton. Macy's and Bloomingdale's have curated sitelets online to help strengthen Macy's, Inc.'s position of being identified as a responsible retailer, committed to climate-related and broader environmental topics. These mitigation efforts may not be successful.

• Acute Physical Risk. The Macy's, Inc. physical infrastructure and operations, which may be affected, damaged or interrupted by more frequent and severe weather events such as pluvial /fluvial/coastal flooding, tropical cyclone, drought, and wildfire. In addition to damaging physical infrastructure, such events may also impact our workforce and shopping accessibility. This includes the possibility of extreme weather events disrupting Macy's, Inc.'s infrastructure, resulting in increased insurance costs and capital expenditures. The Texas ice storms and coastal hurricanes are both acute physical risk events that have affected Macy’s, Inc. in the past and serve as proxies for other potential acute risks.

Macy’s, Inc. monitors weather and situational events, 24 hours a day, year around, for emerging trends that pose a potential threat to the normal operations and the well-being of customers, Company colleagues, and Company assets. Macy’s, Inc. takes proactive measures to mitigate potential physical risk in advance, such as monitoring weather, assembling preparedness and relief kits, and installing generators at store locations. The Company is also implementing projects, such as the Emergency Management Software Systems, to be aware of and prepared for climate-related risks and continuing to develop company-wide disaster response training in order to prepare employees and physical spaces for possible disasters most relevant to those locations.

• Chronic Physical Risk. The Macy's, Inc. physical infrastructure and operations, which may be affected, damaged or interrupted by intensifying temperatures and water scarcity. Increasing cooling costs, HVAC degradation and colleague productivity decreases are examples of potentially material long-term impacts associated with such chronic risks.
• Risk Related to Resource Use. There is increasing scrutiny on the use of resources, particularly energy sources and energy use. Pressure from regulators, consumers and other stakeholders to find alternatives and/or energy-efficient solutions to reduce our use of natural resources is escalating. Through memberships in industry groups such as Textile Exchange, we are working to reduce the environmental and social impact of apparel and footwear products around the world. Additionally, we have engaged World Wildlife Fund to help develop our water stewardship strategy within our private brand supply chain.

Financial Risks

Inability to access capital markets could adversely affect our business or financial condition.

Changes in the credit and capital markets, including market disruptions, limited liquidity and interest rate fluctuations, may increase the cost of financing or restrict our access to this potential source of future liquidity. A downgrade in the ratings that rating agencies assign to the Company's short- and long-term debt has and may continue to negatively impact our access to the debt capital markets and increase our cost of borrowing. In addition, our asset-based credit facility requires us to maintain a specified fixed charge coverage ratio. Our ability to comply with the ratio may be affected by events beyond our control, including prevailing economic, financial and industry conditions. If our results of operations deteriorate to a point where we are not in compliance with our debt covenants, and we are unable to obtain a waiver, much of our debt would be in default and could become due and payable immediately. Our assets may not be sufficient to repay in full this indebtedness, resulting in a need for an alternate source of funding. We cannot make any assurances that we would be able to obtain such an alternate source of funding on satisfactory terms, if at all, and our inability to do so could cause the holders of our securities to experience a partial or total loss of their investments in the Company.

Our level of indebtedness may adversely affect our ability to operate our business, remain in compliance with debt covenants, react to changes in our business or the industry in which we operate, or prevent us from making payments on our indebtedness.

As of February 1, 2025, the aggregate principal amount of our total outstanding indebtedness was $2,779 million. Our level of indebtedness could have important consequences for the holders of our debt and equity securities. For example, it could:

• make it more difficult for us to satisfy our debt obligations;
• increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and external conditions;
• impair our ability to obtain additional debt or equity financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or general corporate or other purposes;
• require us to dedicate a material portion of our cash flows from operations to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flows to fund working capital needs, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
• expose us to the risk of increased interest rates to the extent we make borrowings under our asset-based credit facility, which bears interest at a variable rate;
• limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate;
• place us at a disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less indebtedness; and
• limit our ability to adjust to changing market conditions.

Any of these risks could materially impact our ability to fund our operations or limit our ability to expand our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Macy's, Inc. is committed to protecting information that is valuable to our customers and critical to business operations from unauthorized access and disclosure.

Risk Management and Strategy

Macy's, Inc. operates a security operations program that employs a defense-in-depth strategy to provide layers of safeguards against cybersecurity threats. We apply a hybrid security framework model using the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001, Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) frameworks as a guide to help us identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business.

We conduct ongoing risk assessments, as well as internal and external vulnerability scanning and penetration testing of select systems and platforms. We work with our cloud platform providers to implement a consistent security and control environment through a combination of internal, front-end and additional controls, such as access, firewall and authentication controls.

We undertake other activities to manage risks from cybersecurity threats, including: managing access to Company data; use of encryption; procedures to manage information security incidents, both actual and suspected; establishing security standards and procedures for day-to-day operations to promote optimal system performance and maintain the integrity of operational systems; implementing detection, prevention and recovery controls to protect information technology assets; backup procedures to prevent the loss of critical data; and restrictions on software installations, among other practices.

We have an enterprise risk management program that identifies and prioritizes enterprise risks. At committee and Board meetings periodically throughout the year, management discusses the risk exposures identified as being most significant to the Company and the related actions that management may take to monitor such exposures. The program utilizes a network of functional experts with managerial responsibility for various aspects of enterprise risk management. Our oversight of risks from cybersecurity threats have been implemented into our enterprise risk management program.

We have established data security breach preparedness and response plans that are tested and practiced regularly and address a range of scenarios that include data breaches and ransomware attacks. We are subject to regular information technology and security audits by internal and external audit staff.

Our policy is to vet and train colleagues and relevant contractors and to protect Company data. A pre-employment screening process is conducted for candidates, including contractors and third parties, with background verification checks on some candidates for employment. Colleagues, including relevant contractors, must receive appropriate security training and be made aware of organizational policies and procedures relevant for their job function.

We engage independent third-party security partners to evaluate, measure, and assist in the development and continuous enhancement of our security program. This includes, but is not limited to, program reviews, compromise assessments, breach response planning, and tabletop exercises.

In the event we experience an actual or threatened cybersecurity incident or attack, our Security team will consult with a third-party security firm when appropriate, perform a root cause analysis and determine both how to address the threat and whether we could take additional steps to improve our security posture. In this regard prior cybersecurity incidents have informed changes to our processes to minimize vulnerabilities. As of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have not experienced a cybersecurity incident or attack, or any risk from cybersecurity threats, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. However, if as a result of any future attacks our information technology systems are significantly damaged, cease to function properly or are subject to a significant cybersecurity breach, we may suffer an interruption in our ability to manage and operate the business, and our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition could be adversely affected. For additional information about risks related to actual or threatened cybersecurity incidents, see “Information Security, Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Management Risks” in the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Governance

The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors is responsible for addressing policies with respect to the Company's risk assessment and risk management, including risks related to data privacy, computerized information controls and cybersecurity, and to consider any recommendations for improvement of such controls. The chairperson of the Audit Committee updates the full Board of Directors on these discussions.

The Audit Committee, and the full Board of Directors when appropriate, receive regular updates from management on IT security, internal and external security reviews, data protection, risk assessments, breach preparedness, systems disruption risk, threat assessments, response plans and consumer privacy compliance.

Senior management, including the Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer, Chief Legal Officer, and Chief Information Officer are closely involved with our breach response plans and are a critical part of our decision-making process. These executives attend annual tabletop exercises on response processes and our playbook.

The Macy's, Inc. Security team is responsible for assessing and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats, including the prevention, mitigation, detection and remediation of cybersecurity incidents. The Macy's, Inc. Security team is comprised of security professionals with a variety of backgrounds, including former law enforcement, government and military.

Users with access to Company data and information technology assets are required to promptly report known or suspected security incidents. Our incident response process escalates reporting of cybersecurity incidents to senior management and disclosure controls and procedures are in place to review impact on the Company.

Our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) leads our data protection programs. Our CISO is head of information security, privacy, IT risk, identity and access management and has 33 years with the Company in various roles of increasing responsibilities including Audit Assurance, Computer Operations, Networking and System platforms, including 14 years developing and managing the cybersecurity program. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science. The CISO provides cybersecurity updates at least three times per year to the Audit Committee and an annual review with the full Board of Directors.

The properties of the Company consist primarily of stores and related facilities, including a logistics network. The Company also owns or leases other properties, including corporate office space in New York and other facilities at which centralized operational support functions are conducted.

As of February 1, 2025, the operations of the Company included 680 store locations in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam, comprising a total of approximately 100 million square feet. These locations consisted of 250 owned locations, 344 leased locations, 83 locations operated under arrangements where the Company owned the building and leased the land and three locations of partly owned and partly leased buildings. All owned properties are held free and clear of mortgages. Pursuant to various shopping center agreements, the Company is obligated to operate certain stores for periods of up to 15 years. Some of these agreements require that the stores be operated under a particular name. Most leases require the Company to pay real estate taxes, maintenance and other costs; some also require additional payments based on percentages of sales and some contain purchase options. Certain of the Company's real estate leases have terms that extend for a significant number of years and provide for rental rates that increase or decrease over time.

The Company's operations were conducted through the following branded store locations as of February 1, 2025:

18

Store count activity for the 52 weeks ended February 1, 2025 was as follows:

(a) Stores are removed from store count and identified as closed once closure activities begin.

Additional information about the Company's logistics network as of February 1, 2025 is as follows:

(b) Location was sold and leased back by the Company on February 3, 2025.

The Company and its subsidiaries are involved in various proceedings that are incidental to the normal course of their businesses. As of the date of this report, the Company does not expect that any of such proceedings will have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial position or 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.
• 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.

Analysis of Results of Operations

(dollars in millions, except per share figures)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Summarized Balance Sheet

(in millions)

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

Summarized Statement of Operations

(in millions)

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

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

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.

29

(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.

(millions, except per share data)

30

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.

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.

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.

The Company is exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates that may adversely affect its financial position, results of operations and cash flows. In seeking to minimize the risks from interest rate fluctuations, the Company manages exposures through its regular operating and financing activities and, when deemed appropriate, through the use of derivative financial instruments. The Company does not use financial instruments for trading or other speculative purposes and is not a party to any leveraged financial instruments.

The Company is exposed to interest rate risk through its borrowing activities, which are described in Note 6, Financing, to the Consolidated Financial Statements and funding activities of its credit card portfolio, which are described in Note 2, Revenue, to the Consolidated Financial Statements. All of the Company's borrowings are under fixed rate instruments. However, the Company, from time to time, may use interest rate swap and interest rate cap agreements to help manage its exposure to interest rate movements and reduce borrowing costs. At February 1, 2025, the Company was not a party to any derivative financial instruments and based on the Company's lack of market risk sensitive instruments outstanding at February 1, 2025, the Company has determined that there was no material market risk exposure to the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows as of such date.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have carried out, as of February 1, 2025, with the participation of the Company's management, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Company's disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)under the Exchange Act. Based upon this evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that as of February 1, 2025 the Company's disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports the Company files under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms, and that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports the Company files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company's management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Management's Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

The Company's management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). The Company's internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of internal control over financial reporting. These limitations include the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of the system and reasonable resource constraints. Because of its inherent limitations, the Company's internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements.

The Company's management conducted an assessment of the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on the framework established by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013). Based on this assessment, the Company's management has concluded that, as of February 1, 2025, the Company's internal control over financial reporting was effective. The Company's independent registered public accounting firm, KPMG LLP, has audited the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of February 1, 2025 and has issued an attestation report expressing an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting, as stated in their report located on page 36.

Remediation of Previously Reported Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

As previously disclosed within the Company's Form 10-Q filed on December 12, 2024, in the course of preparing the Company's financial statements for the interim period ended November 2, 2024, management identified a material weakness in its internal controls over financial reporting related to the design of existing internal control activities involving manual journal entries over delivery expense and certain other non-merchandise expenses, and the reconciliation of the related accrued liabilities.

To address the material weakness, the Company implemented new controls, as well as enhanced and revised the design of certain existing controls and procedures. These changes included:

• Re-evaluating the risk of employee circumvention of controls;
• Implementing new and re-designing certain existing process level control activities over delivery expenses and certain other non-merchandise expenses, and the related accrued liabilities; and,
• Validating the reliability of underlying information to support the execution of these controls.

Management assessed the effectiveness of these control changes as of February 1, 2025, and has concluded the material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting has been remediated.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Other than the remediation efforts described above, there have been no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that occurred during the Company's most recently completed fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.