EXHIBIT 32.2

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

In connection with the Annual Report of J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the period ending January 31, 2004 (the “Report”), I, Robert B. Cavanaugh, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

(1) the Report fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(2) the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

DATED this 8 day of April 2004.

/s/ R.B. Cavanaugh

Robert B. Cavanaugh

Executive Vice President and

Chief Financial Officer