Macy's says bitter winter weather salvaged its sales

Macy's reported fourth-quarter results on Tuesday morning, beating expectations for earnings.

The retail giant posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.73 and revenues of $8.87 billion, topping forecasts.

Shares rose nearly 5% in pre-market trading.

Analysts had been expecting Macy's to post $1.69 in adjusted earnings per share, below the company's previous guidance of as much as $1.90. Revenues had been expected at $8.8 billion.

Comparable store sales - or sales at stores open for at least one year - fell 4.3% on an owned plus licensed basis.

Macy's had signaled that mild winter weather at the end of last year were hurting its sales for the fourth quarter. When the company reported sales for November and December last month, CEO Terry Lundgren said about 80% of the sales decline could be attributed to slow sales of winter apparel like sweaters and scarves.

But it looks like there was a turnaround in January.

"While 2015 was challenging, our sales trend improved in January as the weather turned colder in northern climate zones and Macy's and Bloomingdale's were well-stocked in coats, boots, sweaters, gloves, hats and other seasonal goods," Lundgren said in the earnings statement.

All this is besides a secular shift in the retail industry towards e-commerce that is forcing traditional retailers to invest heavily in their online presence as fewer people physically visit stores.

Sales for the full year 2015 fell 4% to $27 billion.

Macy's announced last month that it was closing stores in the coming months, which would relieve 1,300 people of their jobs. Forty stores have been closed.

The company's shares have outperformed the market this year, up 17%, but for the past 12 months, they were down 36% ahead of the earnings announcement.