Macy’s says the employee hid expenses of up to $154 million

Ahead of the busy holiday shopping season, popular department store chain Macy’s said an employee allegedly hid between $132 million and $154 million in delivery costs, delaying the release of the company’s full third-quarter earnings for this year.

Macy’s made the announcement on Monday, November 25, at: press release as the company shared its preliminary financial results for the third quarter of 2024.

The department store said it discovered a “shipping cost issue on one of its accrual accounts” while preparing its financial statement report for the fiscal quarter ending Nov. 2. This prompted the company to launch an investigation.

“As a result of an independent investigation and forensic analysis,” Macy’s said in its release, “the company has determined that one employee responsible for accounting for small package delivery costs intentionally made incorrect accounting entries to conceal approximately $132 million to $154 million in cumulative delivery costs from fourth quarter of 2021 to the fiscal quarter ended November 2, 2024.”

Macy’s said the suspected employee is no longer with the company. The company also added that there is no indication that the questionable accounting entries had any impact on its cash management or supplier payment activities.

The investigation into the matter has postponed the publication of its full third-quarter 2024 earnings report and earnings conference call until December 11, the company said.

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“At Macy’s, Inc. We promote a culture of ethical conduct,” Tony Spring, president and CEO of Macy’s, Inc., said in a press release. “While we are committed to completing the investigation as quickly as possible and ensuring this matter is appropriately resolved, our colleagues across the company remain focused on serving our customers and executing our strategy to ensure a successful holiday season.”

PEOPLE reached out to Macy’s on November 25 for additional comment.

Following Monday’s announcement, the company’s shares fell more than 8% in pre-market trading, but Macy’s was later able to pare a number of losses, including New York Times reported.

Based on preliminary third-quarter results, Macy’s said net sales fell 2.4% to $4.742 billion, according to a Monday press release. However, the 50 locations “delivered a third consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth of 1.9%.”

“Our first 50 Macy’s locations reported their third consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth,” Spring said. “At the same time, our luxury brands Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury achieved positive comparable sales. Importantly, November nameplate comparable sales remain higher than in the third quarter.”

According to National Retail Federation2024 holiday sales are forecast to grow 2.5% and 3.5% from the previous year, implying “total November and December holiday spending of $979.5 billion to $989 billion, up from $955 billion.” .6 billion dollars during the same period last year.”