Frigid temperatures this weekend prompt cold weather advisories

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Target, which is spending billions to remodel stores and strengthen its online business, showed signs Wednesday that the turnaround efforts are starting to win back shoppers.

The retailer reported that a key sales figure rose in the second quarter, its revenue beat Wall Street expectations and its online sales jumped 32 percent. The Minneapolis-based company also boosted its earnings expectations for the year.

"It's a clear sign that we're pursuing the right strategy," said CEO Brian Cornell in a conference call Wednesday.

The strong results from Target came a week after J.C. Penney, Macy's and other major retailers reported another quarter of falling sales as more people shop online or at other stores. Rival Walmart will report its earnings on Thursday.

Target is spending $7 billion in three years to remodel old stores, open small ones in cities and college towns and offer faster delivery for online orders. It is also adding more clothing and furniture brands, and said Wednesday that its children's line Cat & Jack brought in $2 billion in sales since its launch a year ago.

Same-store sales, a key measure of a retailer's health, rose 1.3 percent in the quarter, beating the 0.3 percent rise analysts expected, according to FactSet. Digital sales made up the bulk of the overall same-store sales increase.

Profit fell 1.2 percent to $672 million, or $1.22 per share, as higher costs cut into sales gains. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.23 per share, which was 3 cents better than expected, according to a survey of industry analysts by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue rose 1.6 percent to $16.43 billion, beating the $16.28 billion Street estimate.

Analysts at Stifel said Wednesday that they viewed Target's overall results "favorably, especially given worsening trends across the majority of retailers."

For the current quarter ending in November, Target Corp. expects its per-share earnings to range from 75 to 95 cents.
The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $4.34 to $4.54 per share, up from prior guidance of $3.80 to $4.20 per share.

Target's shares rose 2 percent to $55.45 Wednesday morning. However, the stock is still down nearly 24 percent since the beginning of the year.

Business and Economic News

The Associated Press

Author

Target reported a dip in second-quarter profit, but it was better than anticipated and a 32 percent spike in digital sales gains drove revenue higher.

Target says turnaround efforts are bringing shoppers back

Go Deeper.

Like this?