Target reported better-than-expected sales in the fourth quarter with strong growth online and in stores.
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Those sales were overshadowed by muted earnings and a conservative profit outlook.
Shares slid 3.5 percent before the opening bell Tuesday.
There are consistent signs, however, that Target’s reinvention is resonating with its customers.
The Minneapolis company pledged last year to invest more than $7 billion to modernize its business. The company is opening smaller locations and remodeling older stores. It recently acquired the startup Shipt, which will mean same-day delivery from about half of its stores early this year.
“Our fourth quarter results demonstrate the power of the significant investments we’ve made in our team and our business throughout 2017,” said CEO Brian Cornell in a company release.
Target had a profit of $1.1 billion, or $2.02 per share. That compares with $817 million, or $1.45 per share, in the year-ago period.
Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.37 per share, which is 2 cents short of analyst projections, according to Zacks Investment Research.
Revenue rose 10 percent to $22.77 billion, edging out expectations for $22.46 billion.
Target reported a 3.6 percent increase in revenue at stores opened at least a year. That beat estimates of a 3.1 percent gain, according to FactSet.
Customer traffic rose 3.2 percent and online sales jumped 29 percent.
The company says it enjoyed healthy sales growth in all five of its merchandising areas, including fashion and home furnishings.
Target expects its per-share earnings this quarter to range from $1.25 to $1.45. Analysts expect $1.40.
The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $5.15 to $5.45 per share, versus Wall Street expectations for $5.21.
Shares of Target Corp. slipped $3.20 to $71.95 in premarket trading.
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Elements of the story were generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TGT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TGT
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