Macy's puts up strong third quarter numbers, raises top end of full-year revenue and profit outlooks

Macy's third-quarter sales declined with consumers cautious about spending, but sales and profit both topped Wall Street expectations. The department store also raised the top end of its full-year revenue and adjusted profit forecasts.

Shares surged more than 11% before the market openedThursday.

Overall sales fell 7% to $4.86 billion, with sales at traditional stores and online sales both down 7%. Still, the performance topped the $4.77 billion that analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research were calling for.

Sales at stores open at least a year, a key indicator of a retailer's health, also dropped 7%. Macy's same-store sales declined 7.6%, while Bloomingdale's same-store sales fell 3.2%.