WMT Jan 2025 160.000 put

Target Earnings: What You Need To Know

It looks like the tables have turned, as Walmart (WMT) is set to usurp Target (TGT) as America's favorite big-box retailer. This Wednesday, May 22nd, Target debuted less than stellar Q1 Earnings report, Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma explains: "It's really the tale of two retailers...Target falling 3.7 percent. Just last week, we saw same-store sales from Walmart impress The Street with an upside of 3.8 percent." Target's higher quality, albeit more expensive offerings, appear to be out of reach for the average Joe or Jane on Main Street. They are turning on the red and white retail giant, finding their dollar stretches further when shopping at Walmart. Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi reiterates: "Everywhere you look in this Target quarter, it stunk from top to bottom. They noted that inflation is starting to slow, but they are not seeing a corresponding improvement in sales."  Inflation appears to be the key catalyst for Target's struggling sales. In response to this continued sales drop, the company announced price cuts to around 5,000 of their products, with more price cuts coming over the summer. D.A. Davidson Managing Director Michael Baker sees this as a bullish move, "the key right now is for them to get customers in the door, and win back some traffic and win back some market share." So although Target may be down, they certainly are not out.  Consumers may not have turned on Target, they simply just cannot afford it. Former Toys"R"US CEO Jerry Storch states: "Target has made it's name selling nice-to-have fun products. That is not what the consumer is buying right now!" Despite these current struggles, Target has proven itself as a quality company with "a great deal of consumer brand equity," even with a strike out earnings report in 2024 "consumers still love shopping there, so I think they have a lot to work with, it's just going to take awhile."  This post was written by Noah Chadwick GFX_AE