Soaring digital sales drive Target during second quarter
NEW YORK – Target reported a dip in second-quarter profit, but it was better than anticipated and a 32 percent spike in digital sales gains drove revenue higher.
Revenue also topped Wall Street expectations and the company boosted its full-year guidance, sending shares sharply higher in premarket trading Wednesday.
Profit fell 1.2 percent to $672 million, or $1.22 per share as higher costs cut into sales gains. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.23 per share, which was 3 cents better than expected, according to a survey of industry analysts by Zacks Investment Research.
The Minneapolis retailer reported a 1.6 percent boost in revenue to $16.43 billion.
Same-store sales, a key measure of a retailer’s health, rose 1.3 percent. Digital sales made up the bulk of the overall same-store sales increase.
For the current quarter ending in November, Target Corp. expects its per-share earnings to range from 75 to 95 cents.
The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $4.34 to $4.54 per share, up from prior guidance of $3.80 to $4.20.