Macy's got an unwelcome surprise when preparing last quarter's financial results, finding that an employee had hid up to $154 million of delivery expenses over the past three years.
The retailer today delayed its third-quarter earnings report until Dec. 11, giving it time to finish an independent investigation.
Context: The $132 million–$154 million of newly found expenses going back to Q4 2021 represents just a fraction of the $4.36 billion booked for deliveries over the period, the company said.
Macy's said there's no indication that the incident had any impact on its cash management or vendor payments.
It did not indicate any possible motive for the hidden expenses either.
Zoom in: The company pinned the issue today on a single employee — now a former employee — with responsibility for small package delivery expenses.
The big picture: Macy's, usually one of the key gauges investors use to get an early read on holiday shopping, provided something to chew on by releasing preliminary figures. Third-quarter sales fell 2.4%.
