Macy's 2Q earnings up 64% over year ago

Macy's Inc. on Wednesday reported a 64 percent increase in second-quarter earnings, beating Wall Street estimates.

Karen Hoguet, Macy's chief financial officer, cautioned it's too early to judge how shoppers will react to the stock market falloff that followed the downgrade of U.S. debt. "We remain cautious but optimistic," she said.

Macy's is the first of a series of retailers set to report earnings this week as they head into their two biggest shopping periods: back-to-school and the winter holidays. The back-to-school season started off well, but there is fear consumers will pull back on spending amid a shaky stock market, rising prices on food and clothing and economic uncertainty. Retailers count on the combined shopping periods for as much as half of their annual revenue.

Macy's, which owns the Macy's and Bloomingdale's chains, reported net income rose to $241 million, or 55 cents per share, in the three months ended July 30. That's up from $147 million, or 35 cents per share in the year-ago period. Analysts had predicted 50 cents. Revenue rose 7.3 percent to $5.94 billion from $5.54 billion a year ago.