A Target department store on June 7, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Target has announced that it expects profits to take a hit shortly, as it flags unwanted items, cancels orders, and takes aggressive steps to eliminate excess inventory. .
Joe Raedle | beautiful pictures
Target will report holiday quarter results on Tuesday, as retailers gear up for a year that seems ready resulting in slower sales and more price-conscious customers.
Here’s what analysts are expecting for Target’s fiscal fourth quarter, according to consensus estimates from Refinitiv:
- Adjusted earnings per share: $1.40 projected
- Revenue: 30.7 billion USD expected
The big-box retailer, known for selling cheap yet trendy clothing, home goods, etc., saw sales spike in the first two years of the pandemic. Its total annual revenue grew by about $28 billion — or about 36% — from fiscal year 2019 to 2021.
Over the past year, however, Target has faced a shift in both sales trends and market sentiment. The discounter has become a poster child in the industry for inventory troublesqueeze profit margin and concerns about middle-income consumers are suppressed by inflation. The company fell short of Wall Street earnings expectations for three straight quarters and warned investors to expect soft holiday sales.
Shares of Target are down nearly 40% from their closing all-time high. It closed on Monday at $166.81 a share, bringing its market value to nearly $77 billion. Year-to-date, however, its stock is up about 12%, outpacing the S&P 500’s nearly 4% gain.
Alongside its fourth-quarter financial results, Target is expected to share full-year guidance at an investor day in New York City.
So far, retailers have offered cautious outlooks for next year. Walmart said last week that it expects Same-store sales increase from 2% to 2.5% excluding fuel for business in the United States, with that growth coming from inflation rather than an increase in unit volume. In other places, warehouse at home missed revenue expectations for the first time since November 2019 and said they expect Full-year revenue growth was almost flat.
The goal is More vulnerable than arch-rival Walmart. Grocery account for only accounts for 20% of Target’s sales, while Walmart get more than half of sales from frequency control catalog. It’s also famous for its “Goal Hits,” or trips that inspire shoppers to fill their baskets with arbitrary items and impulsive purchases with the item they’ve visited — a habit that may be gone as consumers return to busier schedules, spending money on restaurants and other services and keeping a close eye on their budgets.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
