Sales during the days leading up to Christmas managed to push Macy's earnings above analysts' expectations. The US retailer released its fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, surprising Wall Street with better-expected-numbers.

During its earnings call, Macy's CEO and chairman, Jeff Gennette, stated that last year did not pan out as they had hoped but fortunately the last few months of 2019 managed to pull its numbers back up. Following the release of its earnings report, the company's stock prices climbed by as much as 6 percent in premarket trading. The stock however dropped and opened flat during the next day.

 For its fiscal fourth quarter, Macy's reported adjusted earnings of $2.12 per share, slightly above the $1.96 per share expected by analysts. Its revenue for the quarter reached $8.34 billion, higher than the $8.32 billion forecasted. Same-store sales on an owned plus licensed basis for the quarter slightly dropped by 0.5 percent, still better than the 0.9 percent drop expected.

Net income for the fourth quarter had reached $340 million, higher than expected but significantly lower than the $740 million reported by the US retailer over the same period a year earlier. Total sales for the quarter reached $8.34 billion, higher than the $8.32 billion expected but lower than its $8.46 billion reported by the company over the same period last year.

Gennette told shareholders that the company was pleased with the trend improvement coming into the fourth quarter. The executive revealed that they did experience an uptick in sales in the 10 shopping days before Christmas day, which had boosted overall numbers.

Macy's expects this year to a transition year, which meant that it would still retain the same annual profits forecast. The company projects its full-year net sales for 2020 to be somewhere between $23.6 billion to $23.9 billion. It also stated that it expects a drop in same-store sales on an owned plus licensed basis of around 1.5 to 2.5 percent.

Gennette briefly touched on the topic of the potential effects of the viral epidemic in China on its Asian business. The executive assured shareholders that the issue should have a "small impact" on its business during this year's first quarter. The company revealed that it had already reopened its offices in China, but it did experience a slight drop in sales in the region.

Similar to other US retailers, Macy's previously announced massive restructuring plans to save costs and increase efficiency. The company revealed that it plans to cut its workforce by at least 9 percent among other measures. The strategy is expected to generate around $1.5 billion in annual savings for the company, which had stated that it could be fully realized by the end of its fiscal 2022 year.