Department store chain Macy’s (NYSE:M) will be reporting results tomorrow before market open. Here’s what to look for.

Macy's beat analysts’ revenue expectations by 1% last quarter, reporting revenues of $5.10 billion, down 3.5% year on year. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Is Macy's a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free.

This quarter, analysts are expecting Macy’s revenue to decline 6.3% year on year to $4.72 billion, improving from the 7.8% decrease it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted loss is expected to come in at -$0.01 per share.

Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. Macy's has a history of exceeding Wall Street’s expectations, beating revenue estimates every single time over the past two years by 3.4% on average.

Looking at Macy’s peers in the general merchandise retail segment, some have already reported their Q3 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Dillard’s revenues decreased 3.5% year on year, beating analysts’ expectations by 1.2%, and Ross Stores reported revenues up 3%, falling short of estimates by 1.5%. Dillard's traded up 9.9% following the results while Ross Stores was also up 2.2%.

Read our full analysis of Dillard’s results here and Ross Stores’s results here.

There has been positive sentiment among investors in the general merchandise retail segment, with share prices up 4.1% on average over the last month. Macy's is up 5.4% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $17.45 (compared to the current share price of $16.35).

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