The largest department store chain in the United States has postponed its quarterly financial results after discovering that an employee concealed as much as $154 million in expenses.

On Monday, Macy’s revealed that an employee had “intentionally made erroneous accounting accrual entries” related to delivery costs from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2024.

The employee, who was in charge of accounting for small package delivery expenses and is no longer with the company, allegedly hid between $132 million and $154 million during that timeframe.

An independent investigation confirmed that no other employees were involved and that the discrepancy did not impact cash management or vendor payments.

Tony Spring, chairman and CEO of Macy’s, stated: “At Macy’s, Inc., we foster a culture of ethical conduct. As we work to conclude the investigation as quickly as possible and manage this situation appropriately, our teams are dedicated to serving our customers and executing our strategy for a prosperous holiday season.”

Macy’s, which encompasses the Bloomingdale’s brand, has its roots in a small dry goods store established in New York City in 1858 and now operates over 500 retail locations.

Preliminary results for the third quarter released Monday indicated a 2.4 percent decrease in sales, totaling $4.74 billion, falling short of analyst predictions of $4.77 billion based on estimates from LSEG. Spring noted that comparable sales in November “are trending ahead of third-quarter levels across all nameplates.”

The company had reported total revenues of $23.1 billion last year, which includes both in-store and online sales.

Macy’s shares, originally set to disclose results on November 26, dropped $0.20, or 1.2 percent, to $16.10 in pre-market trading.

The company anticipates releasing its complete third-quarter financial results and conducting an earnings conference call, during which it will outline its fourth-quarter and annual expectations, by December 11.

This announcement arrives as various retailers extend their Black Friday promotions to entice cautious shoppers. Macy’s, alongside other retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart, has already initiated significant discounts well ahead of Black Friday, which falls on November 29 this year.