Target Q1 earnings fall short of expectations

US retail giant Target posted quarterly earnings that fell well and truly short of analysts' expectations on Wednesday as the firm suffered heightened freight costs, bigger markdowns, and lower-than-expected sales of discretionary items.

Target reported earnings per share of $2.19 each, shy of the $3.07 per share expected on the Street despite quarterly revenues beating the prior year's print of $24.20bn, and expectations of $24.49bn, at $25.17bn.

Net income fell to $1.01bn, or $2.16 per share, down from $2.1bn, or $4.17 per share, a year earlier.

Comparable sales grew 3.3% in the first quarter, ahead of projections for 0.8% growth, while traffic at Target's stores and its website rose 3.9% year-on-year.

Chief executive Brian Cornell cited "unusually high costs" as the cause of its earnings miss.

As of 1340 BST, Target shares were down 22.18% in pre-market trading at $167.54 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com