A customer shops at a Target store in Miami, Florida, on May 20, 2024.
Joe Raedle | fake images
Aim will report its fiscal first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, just days after it said it would cut prices on thousands of groceries and everyday items.
The Minneapolis-based retailer has set low expectations for next year. In early March he said he expected comparable sales to range between zero and up 2%, and adjusted earnings per share to range between $8.60 and $9.60 for the full year.
Here's what Wall Street expects for the company, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $2.06
- Revenue: $24.52 billion
That would represent a drop in sales from $25.32 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.
Like other retailers, Target has had to deal with consumers who still aren't spending as freely on clothing, home goods or other discretionary items because of price fatigue. The cheap and chic retailer has been particularly affected by this dynamic because it makes fewer food sales than rival Walmart, which gets about 60% of its U.S. sales from groceries. That compares to about 20% at Target.
Inflation cooled slightly in April, but the consumer price index was still up 3.4% year over year. The key measure measures how much goods and services cost at the cash register.
Walmart It beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue expectations last week as it posted double-digit growth in e-commerce and said it is gaining market share from higher-income shoppers. The company's chief financial officer, John David Rainey, also said customers are turning to supermarket aisles for cheaper meals because fast food is so expensive.
Some of Walmart's newest or most frequent shoppers could come from Target.
Target acknowledged consumer fatigue with inflation (and competition from discounters like Walmart, Aldi and others) with its price cuts earlier this week. Target said it is focusing most of the discounts on staples such as milk, meat, bread, fruits and vegetables, as well as paper towels and diapers.
Need to update: Target shares closed on Tuesday at $TK, raising its market value to $TK. At Tuesday's close, Target shares were up/down TK%, lagging/leading the S&P 500.
