With the 3rd quarter having come to a close, Target’s earnings have come in. Unlike a majority of retailers, Target has had a strong quarter. In fact, the quarter has been so strong for the company that it has outperformed the expected results of financial analysts. For example, Target generated $18.67 billion in revenue this quarter. According to financial analysts, the expected revenue of Target was $18.49 billion, or about $18 million less than the actual revenue.
Additionally, this revenue of $18.67 billion is almost $1 billion more than Target’s $17.82 billion revenue from last year.
In the 3rd quarter, comparable sales were reported to have grown 4.5% by Target. This is the product of 2.8% growth in stores and another 1.7% from digital sales. Combined with totals from last year, Target has summed up about a 10% comparable sales growth since last year.
Shares also closed at a high of $127.20, which ends up being a surge of about 14%. In total, Target shares have gone up by about 90% this year. This is an improvement from 2018, when stocks ended up about 6% lower at the end of the year than they were at the beginning. As a result, Target shareholders also benefited from this positive 3rd quarter earnings report, with $337 million in dividends being distributed to investors.
And following the general trend of the rise of digital retailing, Target’s digital sales grew by a whopping 31% in the 3rd quarter.
To try to continue these strong reports in the 4th quarter, Target has begun opening new locations in New York and college campuses. According to Brian Cornell, CEO of Target, when customers opt for curbside pickup instead of shipping from distribution centers, costs can be cut by 90%. As a result, Target may bolster its’ profits in the 4th quarter through advertising curbside pickup more.
So, Target is looking strong coming into the 4th quarter with almost completely across the board higher than expected earnings. Could Target take a total 180 and have negative earnings next quarter? Yes. But this is more unlikely than other quarters due to the upcoming holiday seasons that will probably increase Target’s revenue.
