Company CEO Brian Cornell has expressed confidence that the department store chain will embark on a positive growth trajectory “from a comparable sales standpoint, from a traffic standpoint, and from a [market] share standpoint.” He explained that Target will focus on opening new stores, introducing private-label brands, revamping existing stores, and unveiling a new membership program providing perks including faster delivery times.

Stifel analyst Mark Astrachan explained in a note to clients that the firm is optimistic about Target’s growth prospects. “We think F4Q results and guidance were better-than-feared. Guidance anticipates a sequential improvement through F2024. This is largely consistent with our expectations that discretionary spending intentions are improving, including amongst lower income households,” the note read.

The post Target Shares Jump as Earnings Exceed Expectation appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Home Depot, Target, and Walmart all admitted that theft has become a major issue affecting their businesses following all three big box stores’ latest earnings calls. Target CEO Brian Cornell stated that his company is facing “an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime.”

Inventory shrinkage, caused in part by theft, has had a significant effect on companies’ profit margins this year, with Home Depot CFO Richard McPhail citing this as the main factor for his company’s gross margin decline. Still, this is not a new issue, with the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) National Retail Security Survey finding that retail shrink was nearly $100 billion as of 2021; the most recent year that the data was collected.

The post Big Box Stores Hit By Surge in Theft appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

On Wednesday, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting are due to be released. This data, together with July’s retail sales, is expected to provide insight into the trajectory of stocks following an average month of trading so far. Stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% for the week, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index incurring weekly losses.

Core CPI rose by 0.2% in July, remaining in line with June’s figure. This marks the first time since February 2021 that core CPI has risen by just 0.2% in consecutive months.

The post Investors Await Wave of Big Box Earnings Led By Target, Walmart appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

“Considering the competitive landscape, we believe Walmart is likely to continue gaining market share (including from Target), and Target’s high exposure to discretionary sales (55% of sales) will not serve them well in the current macro backdrop (which became more evident this earnings season),” Lejuez wrote to investors in a note.

New data has shown that Target’s store traffic dropped by 13.9% in the final week of May, something that Lejuez claims is a result of shoppers adopting more cautious buying habits amid steep inflation.

Shares in the company fell 1.5% during premarket trading on Friday, while shares remain 17% lower since mid-May as investors worry about third-quarter sales.

The post Target Stock Hit By Another Downgrade appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

As Walmart CEO Doug McMillion told investors in an earnings call, the retail giant saw a rise in grocery sales over the first quarter, particularly among high earners and a younger demographic. The company’s same-store sales in Q1 topped analysts’ estimates, with its strength in grocery as well as health and wellness managing to offset a slide in general merchandise sales.

Target’s Q1 results follow this narrative, with CEO Brian Cornell making the following statement on a call with reporters: “(Consumers are) investing more in those household essentials and food and beverage items, and they’re shopping more cautiously when it comes to all things discretionary.”

Due to a higher focus than Walmart on general merchandise and less on groceries, Target’s earnings report was less optimistic, with a low-single-digit decline in sales. On the eCommerce front, Target’s online sales declined for a second straight quarter, while Walmart’s skyrocketed by 26%.

The post Walmart, Target Earnings Show That Consumers “Trading Down”, Execs Claim appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Despite narrowly missing estimates of a 26.52% gross profit margin, Target’s margin of 26.3% still surpassed the company’s 25.7% margin a year ago. Diluted earnings per share stood at $2.05; beating estimates of $1.80.

“We came into 2023 clear-eyed about what consumers are facing with persistent inflation and rising interest rates,” Target chairman and CEO Brian Cornell stated on a call with reporters. “We were determined to build on our guests’ trust by unifying as one team to deliver affordable joy each and every day as consumers and businesses navigate a third straight year of dynamic challenges.”

Although consumers appeared to express caution when it came to certain purchases, Cornell expects Target to fare better in the second half of the year. He expects to see consistent performance among food and beverage, household essentials, and beauty products.

The post Target Expresses Confidence Following Q1 Earnings Report appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Retail sales are expected to grow by 0.8% in April, rebounding from a 1% decline in March, data from Bloomberg suggests. Other retailers that are set to report their quarterly earnings throughout the week include Alibaba, TJX, and Home Depot.

Congress is currently hosting talks over the potential raising of the U.S. debt ceiling. Deliberations between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are expected to continue up until the government’s self-imposed deadline when it would run out of borrowing capacity.

According to Bloomberg, Wall Street analysts are expecting Target to report a 1.25% rise in same-store sales over Q1, while Walmart is expected to report a 5% hike in same-store sales.

As we head into earnings, we believe WMT is one of the best positioned in our coverage and our data checks support our view,” analysts at Jeffries wrote in a note to clients.

The post Investors Brace Themselves for Walmart, Target Earnings Reports appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Revenue for the period was $31.40 billion, outpacing the $30.46 billion that Wall Street predicted. Adjusted earnings per share were also higher than expected, with the retailer’s $1.89 per share exceeding the expected $1.48 per share. Particularly noteworthy was how Target’s same-store sales significantly outpaced estimates, growing 0.7% compared to an expected decline of 1.74%.

CEO Brian Cornell noted that Target’s strong quarterly performance was driven by a customer shift to essential items such as food and beverages, while luxury categories such as electronics, home, and apparel were largely avoided.

“Strength in Food & Beverage, Beauty and Household Essentials offset ongoing softness in discretionary categories,” Cornell noted. “This performance highlights the benefit of our multi-category merchandise assortment, which drives relevance with our guests in any environment, and is a key reason we grew traffic every quarter last year.”

Faced with a challenging economic environment plagued with high prices and inflation, Cornell stated that Target will remain focused on its long term strategy. The company will look to offer affordability and assortment in an effort to attract customers looking for value.

The post Target Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Just like the majority of retailers in the U.S., Target’s earnings suffered a hit due to rising inflation and change in customer habits. It also didn’t help that the company launched a series of discounts to clear its inventory and move on from items like electronics.

Target managed to beat the Wall Street estimates in the second quarter when it comes to revenue, reaching $26 billion versus the $25.84 billion expected. However, its profits fell 90% compared to the same period last year, while the diluted earnings per share came at $0.39 compared to the $0.73 estimated.

Still, the retailer is optimistic that its fortunes will change once the back-to-school and holiday season kicks in.

 “We’ve talked to consumers, and our guests on a regular basis, and one of the things we keep hearing back is the guest wants to celebrate the upcoming holiday season — and Target is a big part of how they celebrate,” Target CEO Brian Cornell told reporters.

Target stock closed at $180.19 on Tuesday, marking its highest point since mid-May. However, earnings miss brought it down to $175.70 per share in pre-market hours. The stock is 22% down year-to-date.

The post Target Shares Dip After Second-Straight Earnings Miss appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Both Walmart and Target built up significant inventories during the first quarter, with the two companies projecting growing sales of lower-margin goods such as food and fuel as the year progressed due to an expected decline in earnings.

Bill Smead, the chief investment officer of Smead Capital Management, explained that “Target made it pretty plain that the next couple of quarters were going to be difficult as they got rid of inventory at lower prices”. Smead’s company owns approximately $200 million worth of Target shares.

The second half of the year is typically expected to be a high-earning period for the retail sector, with consumers increasing purchases around the back-to-school and holiday seasons.

Some optimism has been derived from the recent decline in gasoline prices, thereby easing pressure on low-income shoppers. Also, while the consumer price index rose by 8.5% in July, this is a decline in the rapid growth rate that was experienced the previous month.

The post Investors Await Retail Earnings Reports appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Company CEO Brian Cornell has expressed confidence that the department store chain will embark on a positive growth trajectory “from a comparable sales standpoint, from a traffic standpoint, and from a [market] share standpoint.” He explained that Target will focus on opening new stores, introducing private-label brands, revamping existing stores, and unveiling a new membership program providing perks including faster delivery times.

Stifel analyst Mark Astrachan explained in a note to clients that the firm is optimistic about Target’s growth prospects. “We think F4Q results and guidance were better-than-feared. Guidance anticipates a sequential improvement through F2024. This is largely consistent with our expectations that discretionary spending intentions are improving, including amongst lower income households,” the note read.

The post Target Shares Jump as Earnings Exceed Expectation appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Home Depot, Target, and Walmart all admitted that theft has become a major issue affecting their businesses following all three big box stores’ latest earnings calls. Target CEO Brian Cornell stated that his company is facing “an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime.”

Inventory shrinkage, caused in part by theft, has had a significant effect on companies’ profit margins this year, with Home Depot CFO Richard McPhail citing this as the main factor for his company’s gross margin decline. Still, this is not a new issue, with the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) National Retail Security Survey finding that retail shrink was nearly $100 billion as of 2021; the most recent year that the data was collected.

The post Big Box Stores Hit By Surge in Theft appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

On Wednesday, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting are due to be released. This data, together with July’s retail sales, is expected to provide insight into the trajectory of stocks following an average month of trading so far. Stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% for the week, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index incurring weekly losses.

Core CPI rose by 0.2% in July, remaining in line with June’s figure. This marks the first time since February 2021 that core CPI has risen by just 0.2% in consecutive months.

The post Investors Await Wave of Big Box Earnings Led By Target, Walmart appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

“Considering the competitive landscape, we believe Walmart is likely to continue gaining market share (including from Target), and Target’s high exposure to discretionary sales (55% of sales) will not serve them well in the current macro backdrop (which became more evident this earnings season),” Lejuez wrote to investors in a note.

New data has shown that Target’s store traffic dropped by 13.9% in the final week of May, something that Lejuez claims is a result of shoppers adopting more cautious buying habits amid steep inflation.

Shares in the company fell 1.5% during premarket trading on Friday, while shares remain 17% lower since mid-May as investors worry about third-quarter sales.

The post Target Stock Hit By Another Downgrade appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

As Walmart CEO Doug McMillion told investors in an earnings call, the retail giant saw a rise in grocery sales over the first quarter, particularly among high earners and a younger demographic. The company’s same-store sales in Q1 topped analysts’ estimates, with its strength in grocery as well as health and wellness managing to offset a slide in general merchandise sales.

Target’s Q1 results follow this narrative, with CEO Brian Cornell making the following statement on a call with reporters: “(Consumers are) investing more in those household essentials and food and beverage items, and they’re shopping more cautiously when it comes to all things discretionary.”

Due to a higher focus than Walmart on general merchandise and less on groceries, Target’s earnings report was less optimistic, with a low-single-digit decline in sales. On the eCommerce front, Target’s online sales declined for a second straight quarter, while Walmart’s skyrocketed by 26%.

The post Walmart, Target Earnings Show That Consumers “Trading Down”, Execs Claim appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Despite narrowly missing estimates of a 26.52% gross profit margin, Target’s margin of 26.3% still surpassed the company’s 25.7% margin a year ago. Diluted earnings per share stood at $2.05; beating estimates of $1.80.

“We came into 2023 clear-eyed about what consumers are facing with persistent inflation and rising interest rates,” Target chairman and CEO Brian Cornell stated on a call with reporters. “We were determined to build on our guests’ trust by unifying as one team to deliver affordable joy each and every day as consumers and businesses navigate a third straight year of dynamic challenges.”

Although consumers appeared to express caution when it came to certain purchases, Cornell expects Target to fare better in the second half of the year. He expects to see consistent performance among food and beverage, household essentials, and beauty products.

The post Target Expresses Confidence Following Q1 Earnings Report appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Retail sales are expected to grow by 0.8% in April, rebounding from a 1% decline in March, data from Bloomberg suggests. Other retailers that are set to report their quarterly earnings throughout the week include Alibaba, TJX, and Home Depot.

Congress is currently hosting talks over the potential raising of the U.S. debt ceiling. Deliberations between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are expected to continue up until the government’s self-imposed deadline when it would run out of borrowing capacity.

According to Bloomberg, Wall Street analysts are expecting Target to report a 1.25% rise in same-store sales over Q1, while Walmart is expected to report a 5% hike in same-store sales.

As we head into earnings, we believe WMT is one of the best positioned in our coverage and our data checks support our view,” analysts at Jeffries wrote in a note to clients.

The post Investors Brace Themselves for Walmart, Target Earnings Reports appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Revenue for the period was $31.40 billion, outpacing the $30.46 billion that Wall Street predicted. Adjusted earnings per share were also higher than expected, with the retailer’s $1.89 per share exceeding the expected $1.48 per share. Particularly noteworthy was how Target’s same-store sales significantly outpaced estimates, growing 0.7% compared to an expected decline of 1.74%.

CEO Brian Cornell noted that Target’s strong quarterly performance was driven by a customer shift to essential items such as food and beverages, while luxury categories such as electronics, home, and apparel were largely avoided.

“Strength in Food & Beverage, Beauty and Household Essentials offset ongoing softness in discretionary categories,” Cornell noted. “This performance highlights the benefit of our multi-category merchandise assortment, which drives relevance with our guests in any environment, and is a key reason we grew traffic every quarter last year.”

Faced with a challenging economic environment plagued with high prices and inflation, Cornell stated that Target will remain focused on its long term strategy. The company will look to offer affordability and assortment in an effort to attract customers looking for value.

The post Target Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Just like the majority of retailers in the U.S., Target’s earnings suffered a hit due to rising inflation and change in customer habits. It also didn’t help that the company launched a series of discounts to clear its inventory and move on from items like electronics.

Target managed to beat the Wall Street estimates in the second quarter when it comes to revenue, reaching $26 billion versus the $25.84 billion expected. However, its profits fell 90% compared to the same period last year, while the diluted earnings per share came at $0.39 compared to the $0.73 estimated.

Still, the retailer is optimistic that its fortunes will change once the back-to-school and holiday season kicks in.

 “We’ve talked to consumers, and our guests on a regular basis, and one of the things we keep hearing back is the guest wants to celebrate the upcoming holiday season — and Target is a big part of how they celebrate,” Target CEO Brian Cornell told reporters.

Target stock closed at $180.19 on Tuesday, marking its highest point since mid-May. However, earnings miss brought it down to $175.70 per share in pre-market hours. The stock is 22% down year-to-date.

The post Target Shares Dip After Second-Straight Earnings Miss appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Both Walmart and Target built up significant inventories during the first quarter, with the two companies projecting growing sales of lower-margin goods such as food and fuel as the year progressed due to an expected decline in earnings.

Bill Smead, the chief investment officer of Smead Capital Management, explained that “Target made it pretty plain that the next couple of quarters were going to be difficult as they got rid of inventory at lower prices”. Smead’s company owns approximately $200 million worth of Target shares.

The second half of the year is typically expected to be a high-earning period for the retail sector, with consumers increasing purchases around the back-to-school and holiday seasons.

Some optimism has been derived from the recent decline in gasoline prices, thereby easing pressure on low-income shoppers. Also, while the consumer price index rose by 8.5% in July, this is a decline in the rapid growth rate that was experienced the previous month.

The post Investors Await Retail Earnings Reports appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.