The US retail giant Macy's has postponed the release of its quarterly results after it was revealed that a single employee concealed at least $132 million in customer delivery costs over a period of three years.

According to the company, the responsible employee made "deliberately incorrect booking entries" between the end of 2021 and the third quarter of 2023 to conceal expenses totaling between 132 and 154 million dollars. These costs represent only a fraction of the total recognized expenses for supplies of 4.36 billion dollars during this period. Macy's emphasized that the accounting manipulation had no impact on cash management or payments to suppliers.

The employee in question has since left the company. An internal investigation found no evidence of involvement by other employees, stated Macy's. The company is audited by KPMG.

Macy's had originally planned to release third-quarter results on Tuesday. Instead, preliminary figures were announced on Monday, with the full report to follow by December 11. According to the preliminary results, net sales in the third quarter fell by 2.4 percent to $4.7 billion—less than the $4.9 billion expected by analysts. No details on earnings have been provided yet.

Under the leadership of CEO Tony Spring, who has been leading the company since February, Macy's is pursuing a dual strategy: The closure of 150 unprofitable Macy's stores is to be offset by investments in the remaining 350 locations. At the same time, the company is focusing on the expansion of its luxury brands Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury. Despite these measures, Macy's shares have fallen by 19 percent since the beginning of the year; on Monday, they dropped by 3 percent following the revelations.

At Macy's, Inc, we promote a culture of ethical responsibility. While we swiftly conclude the investigation, our colleagues focus on serving our customers as best as possible during the important holiday season," said CEO Spring.