Target Q3 Earnings Preview: Analysts Expect Revenue, EPS Growth As Attention Turns To Holiday Quarter

Zinger Key Points
  • Target is set to report third-quarter financial results Wednesday before market open.
  • Analysts see the company reporting revenue and earnings per share higher than the prior year.

Analysts expect Target Corporation TGT to report third-quarter revenue of $25.9 billion when the company reports third-quarter financial results on Wednesday, Nov. 20 before the market opens.

That’s up from $25.4 billion in last year's third quarter, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

The Minneapolis-based company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in six of the last eight quarters and seven of the last 10 quarters overall.

Analysts expect Target to report third-quarter earnings per share of $2.30 — up from $2.10 in last year's third quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates in six of the last seven quarters and six of the last 10 quarters overall.

Guidance from Target calls for third-quarter comparable sales to be up 0% to 2% year-over-year. The company also guided for third-quarter earnings per share to be in the range of $2.10 to $2.40.

Target raised its full-year guidance after second-quarter results with earnings per share of $9.00 to $9.70 now expected, up from a prior range of $8.60 to $9.60.

Read Also: How To Earn $500 A Month From Target Stock Ahead Of Q3 Earnings

Key Items to Watch

Target visitor traffic was up 1% year-over-year, per data from Placer.ai. It outpaced retail rival Walmart Inc WMT, which had 0.9% visitor growth year-over-year.

The Placer.ai report also sheds some light on upcoming trends to watch for Target and how the company's guidance could factor into the holiday season. Target saw the biggest weekly holiday visits boost of the tracked retail chains, with foot traffic up 87.3% the week before Christmas compared to the company's weekly average.

Walmart, by comparison, saw a 39.6% increase in its weekly average visitors for the week before Christmas last year.

"Digging deeper into historical data suggests that it is Target that is primed to experience the busiest holiday season of the analyzed chains," Placer.ai said.

Target also saw the biggest spike of the tracked retailers for the weekly visitor growth for the week of Turkey Wednesday and Black Friday, with visits up 18.9% compared to the company's weekly average.

"With recent visits to Target on par with — or slightly above — last year's levels, the retail giant is likely poised to win the holidays once again."

Along with guidance and commentary on the holiday shopping season, another area to watch in Target's report will be same-day delivery services. The company reported a double-digit increase in this segment in the second quarter.

Sales by segment could also be an area to watch with Target saying apparel and discretionary sales were strong in the second quarter.

Target's quarterly results come one day after Walmart reported third-quarter results. Walmart reported revenue and earnings per share that came in ahead of Street consensus estimates. The retailers also raised its guidance.

The strong quarterly report from Walmart could be a positive for Target heading into the earnings report as it could signal the strength of the American consumer. The key will be making sure that Walmart didn't end up taking market share away from Target as a result.

Price Action: Target stock is down 1% to $155.37 on Tuesday versus a 52-week trading range of $128.37 to $181.86. Target stock is up 8.6% year-to-date in 2024.

Read Next:

Image: Shutterstock

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In:
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!