Target shares sink after big Q3 earnings miss

Shares of Target plunged by nearly a fifth in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the American discount retail chain missed third-quarter profit forecasts by a wide margin and lowered its full-year guidance.

The company, which runs nearly 2,000 stores nationwide, said comparable sales were just 0.3% higher year-on-year in the three months to 2 November, with a 1.9% drop in in-store sales outweighed by a 10.8% increase online.

Total revenues were 1.1% higher at $25.7bn, missing the $25.9bn expected by the market.

Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $1.85, representing an 11.9% drop on last year, as the operating income margin fell to 4.6% from 5.2%. Analysts were expecting EPS to come in at $2.30.

The company said this was a result of higher digital fulfilment and supply chain costs due to the cost of managing higher inventory levels, increased digital sales volume, and new supply chain facilities coming online.

Target also guided to flat comparable sales in the fourth quarter, and adjusted EPS of $1.85-2.45, translating to full-year adjusted EPS of $8.30-8.90. This was a reduction from the previous $9-9.70 guidance given in August, well below the $9.55 consensus forecast and now points to a decline on the $8.94 earned in 2023.

Futures were down 18.2% at $127.57 by 0655 ET.