NEW YORK — Macy’s reported its fourth consecutive quarter of comparable sales gains as the department store said an overhaul of its merchandise and better customer service is resonating with customers.

The New York company raised its outlook Wednesday and shares rose 3% before the opening bell.

“We’re off to a strong start to the year, ” said CEO Tony Spring, who is in the third year of an attempted turnaround of the storied retailer. “We’re operating with discipline and focusing on what matters most — our customers.”

Comparable sales — sales at established online channels and stores— rose 3% during the first quarter. That was higher than the 1.8% gain during the final quarter of 2025 and it was the strongest first quarter for such sales in four years, the retailer said. Macy’s stores posted a comparable sales increase of 1.6%, while the company’s Bloomingdale’s stores delivered a 10.2% increase, its highest first-quarter sales volume on record. Bluemercury, the cosmetics chain also owned by Macy’s had a 6.4% comparable sales gain.

It’s the latest encouraging sign for Macy’s, which had been mired in a yearslong sales slump. Under Spring, who took over the top job in early 2024, Macy’s has closed unprofitable stores and spent millions modernize others. The company has beefed up customer service. It’s also been trying to differentiate its luxury business from its rivals with exclusive merchandise.

Some of the outsized performance at Bloomingdales has been attributed by retail analysts to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Saks Global, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

Still, Macy’s is contending with the same challenges faced by its the retailer sector as a whole.

U.S. retailers have spent months navigating an uncertain economic environment, from President Donald Trump’s tariffs to the impact of soaring gasoline prices due to the Iran war. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline has been above $4 per gallon since March, according to according to AAA. A gallon costs 40% more than than it did before the war. The latest batch of earnings reports from major retailers underscore how shoppers are under increasing financial strain as they try to factor in higher prices for gasoline, groceries, utilities and almost everything else.

Macy’s reported net income of $63 million, or 23 cents per share, in the quarter ended May 2. Adjusted earnings per share was 13 cents, a dime better than Wall Street had expected, according to FactSet.

That compares with a $38 million profit, or 13 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Net sales rose to $4.68 billion from $4.6 billion in the year-ago period. Revenue this quarter also edged out projections on Wall Street.

The company now expects annual net sales of between $21.5 billion and $21.75 billion, up from previous guidance of $21.4 billion to $21.65 billion in March. Macy’s upped its projections for comparable sales, saying on Wednesday that they will likely increase between 0.5% and 1.2%. The company in March predicted a decline of 0.5% to a gain of 0.5%.

It also now anticipates earnings per share for the year to be in the range of $2 to $2.20, up from its previous guidance of $1.90 to $2.10 per share.

For the full fiscal year, analysts were expecting $2.09 per share on revenue of $21.6 billion, according to FactSet analysts.