I'd guess this depends on region/demographic, but at least in my circles on the west coast, "guys" is gendered when it's used to describe or identify people in the third person, but it's gender-neutral when used to address a group of people in the second person.

So "the guys" or "how many guys" always refers to men, but "you guys" carries no implication of gender at all. I often hear people address groups consisting entirely of women as "guys", and nobody bats an eye.

Yes agreed. In most regions/groups in America, "you guys" does not carry the same meaning as "a group of guys"

Also for reference, these are "compound nouns" - a single noun composed of multiple words. No one has these issues with "ice cream", for example, but "you guys" really is just another one of these.

I think it makes sense to say "you guys" is a compound noun, but the word "guys" can be used in this gender-neutral addressing-a-group sense outside of the phrase "you guys". For example: "Hey guys!", or "Guys, what should I eat for lunch?"