•Third quarter comparable sales increased 0.3 percent, driven by strong traffic and digital performance.

◦Guest traffic grew 2.4 percent over the prior year.

◦Digital comparable sales grew 10.8 percent reflecting nearly 20 percent growth in same-day delivery powered by Target Circle 360TM and double digit growth in Drive Up.

◦Beauty comparable sales grew more than 6 percent. Food & Beverage and Essentials categories grew low-single digits compared to the prior year.

•Third quarter gross margin rate was down 0.2 percentage points to the prior year. Year-to-date, gross margin rate has expanded by a full percentage point compared to last year.

•Third quarter GAAP and Adjusted EPS of $1.85 was down 11.9 percent compared with last year.

MINNEAPOLIS (November 20, 2024) – Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) today announced its third quarter 2024 financial results, reflecting comparable sales growth driven entirely by traffic and strength in the digital channel.

The Company reported third quarter GAAP and Adjusted earnings per share1 (EPS) of $1.85, compared with $2.10 in 2023. The attached tables provide a reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures. All earnings per share figures refer to diluted EPS.

“I’m proud of our team’s efforts to navigate through a volatile operating environment during the third quarter. We saw several strengths across the business, including a 2.4 percent increase in traffic, nearly 11 percent growth in the digital channel, and continued growth in beauty and frequency categories. At the same time, we encountered some unique challenges and cost pressures that impacted our bottom-line performance,” said Brian Cornell, chair and chief executive officer of Target Corporation. “Looking ahead, our team is energized and ready to deliver the unique combination of newness and value that holiday shoppers can only find at Target, and we remain confident in the underlying strength and fundamentals of our business, and our ability to deliver on our longer-term financial goals.”

For the fourth quarter, the Company expects approximately flat comparable sales and GAAP and Adjusted EPS of $1.85 to $2.45, translating to a full year expected GAAP and Adjusted EPS range of $8.30 to $8.90.

Comparable sales increased 0.3 percent in the third quarter, reflecting a comparable store sales decline of 1.9 percent and a comparable digital sales increase of 10.8 percent. Total revenue of $25.7 billion in the third quarter was 1.1 percent higher than last year, reflecting a total sales increase of 0.9 percent and an 11.5 percent increase in other revenue. Third quarter operating income of $1.2 billion was 11.2 percent lower than last year.

Third quarter operating income margin rate was 4.6 percent in 2024, compared with 5.2 percent in 2023. Third quarter gross margin rate was 27.2 percent, compared with 27.4 percent in 2023, reflecting higher digital fulfillment and supply chain costs due to the cost of managing higher inventory levels, increased digital sales volume, and new supply chain facilities coming online, partially offset by lower book to physical inventory adjustments and the net impact of merchandising activities as compared to the prior year. Third quarter SG&A expense rate was 21.4 percent in 2024, compared with 20.9 percent in 2023, reflecting the combined impact of higher costs, including higher team member pay and benefits and higher general liability expenses, partially offset by disciplined cost management.

The Company’s third quarter 2024 net interest expense was $105 million, compared with $107 million last year.

Third quarter 2024 effective income tax rate was 21.7 percent, compared with the prior year rate of 21.3 percent, reflecting lower discrete benefits in the current year.

The Company paid dividends of $516 million in the third quarter, compared with $507 million last year, reflecting a 1.8 percent increase in the dividend per share.

The Company repurchased $354 million of its shares in the third quarter, retiring 2.4 million shares of common stock at an average price of $147.43. As of the end of the quarter, the Company had approximately $9.2 billion of remaining capacity under the repurchase program approved by Target’s Board of Directors in August 2021.

For the trailing twelve months through third quarter 2024, after-tax return on invested capital (ROIC) was 15.9 percent, compared with 13.9 percent for the trailing twelve months through third quarter 2023. The increase in ROIC reflects higher operating income, partially offset by higher average invested capital. The tables in this release provide additional information about the Company’s ROIC calculation.

Target will webcast its third quarter earnings conference call at 7:00 a.m. CT today. Investors and the media are invited to listen to the meeting at Corporate.Target.com/Investors (click on "Q3 2024 Target Corporation Earnings Conference Call" under "Events & Presentations"). A replay of the webcast will be provided when available. The replay number is 1-800-513-1169.

Statements in this release regarding the Company’s future financial performance, including its fiscal 2024 fourth quarter and full-year guidance, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause the Company’s results to differ materially. The most important risks and uncertainties are described in Item 1A of the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2024. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) serves guests at nearly 2,000 stores and at Target.com, with the purpose of helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. Since 1946, Target has given 5% of its profit to communities, which today equals millions of dollars a week. Additional company information can be found by visiting the corporate website (corporate.target.com) and press center.

 

 

Common Stock Authorized 6,000,000,000 shares, $0.0833 par value; 459,244,995, 461,675,441, and 461,651,176 shares issued and outstanding as of November 2, 2024, February 3, 2024, and October 28, 2023, respectively.

 

Preferred Stock Authorized 5,000,000 shares, $0.01 par value; no shares were issued or outstanding during any period presented.

 

 

Note: Gross margin rate is calculated as gross margin (sales less cost of sales) divided by sales. All other rates are calculated by dividing the applicable amount by total revenue. Other revenue includes $148 million and $433 million of profit-sharing income under our credit card program agreement for the three and nine months ended November 2, 2024, respectively, and $165 million and $508 million for the three and nine months ended October 28, 2023, respectively.

 

Sales by Channel						Three Months Ended												Nine Months Ended
(unaudited)						November 2, 2024						October 28, 2023						November 2, 2024						October 28, 2023
Stores originated						81.5		%				83.2		%				81.8		%				82.9		%
Digitally originated						18.5						16.8						18.2						17.1
Total						100		%				100		%				100		%				100		%

Note: Sales fulfilled by stores include in-store purchases and digitally originated sales fulfilled by shipping merchandise from stores to guests, Order Pickup, Drive Up, and Shipt.

 

Number of Stores and Retail Square Feet						Number of Stores																		Retail Square Feet (a)
(unaudited)						November 2, 2024						February 3, 2024						October 28, 2023						November 2, 2024						February 3, 2024						October 28, 2023
170,000 or more sq. ft.						273						273						273						48,824						48,824						48,824
50,000 to 169,999 sq. ft.						1,559						1,542						1,542						195,050						192,908						192,877
49,999 or less sq. ft.						146						141						141						4,404						4,207						4,207
Total						1,978						1,956						1,956						248,278						245,939						245,908

(a)In thousands; reflects total square feet less office, supply chain facilities, and vacant space.

 

 

To provide additional transparency, we disclose non-GAAP adjusted diluted earnings per share (Adjusted EPS). When applicable, this metric excludes certain discretely managed items. However, there are no adjustments in any period presented. We believe this information is useful in providing period-to-period comparisons of the results of our operations. This measure is not in accordance with, or an alternative to, U.S. GAAP. The most comparable GAAP measure is diluted earnings per share. Adjusted EPS should not be considered in isolation or as a substitution for analysis of our results as reported in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate Adjusted EPS differently, limiting the usefulness of the measure for comparisons with other companies.

 

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Adjusted EPS						Three Months Ended																		Nine Months Ended
						November 2, 2024						October 28, 2023						Change						November 2, 2024						October 28, 2023						Change
GAAP and adjusted diluted earnings per share						$	1.85					$	2.10					(11.9)		%				$	6.45					$	5.96					8.3		%

(a)Fourth quarter and full-year 2024 GAAP EPS may include the impact of certain discrete items, which will be excluded in calculating Adjusted EPS. The guidance does not currently reflect any such discrete items. In the past, these items have included losses on the early retirement of debt and certain other items that are discretely managed.

Earnings before interest expense and income taxes (EBIT) and earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are non-GAAP financial measures. We believe these measures provide meaningful information about our operational efficiency compared with our competitors by excluding the impact of differences in tax jurisdictions and structures, debt levels, and, for EBITDA, capital investment. These measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, GAAP. The most comparable GAAP measure is net earnings. EBIT and EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as a substitution for analysis of our results as reported in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate EBIT and EBITDA differently, limiting the usefulness of the measures for comparisons with other companies.

(a)Represents total depreciation and amortization, including amounts classified within Depreciation and Amortization and within Cost of Sales.

We have also disclosed after-tax ROIC, which is a ratio based on GAAP information, with the exception of the add-back of operating lease interest to operating income. We believe this metric is useful in assessing the effectiveness of our capital allocation over time. Other companies may calculate ROIC differently, limiting the usefulness of the measure for comparisons with other companies.

(a)The trailing twelve months ended November 2, 2024, consisted of 53 weeks compared with 52 weeks in the prior-year period.

(b)Represents the add-back to operating income driven by the hypothetical interest expense we would incur if the property under our operating leases were owned or accounted for as finance leases. Calculated using the discount rate for each lease and recorded as a component of rent expense within Operating Income. Operating lease interest is added back to Operating Income in the ROIC calculation to control for differences in capital structure between us and our competitors.

(c)Calculated using the effective tax rates, which were 22.5 percent and 20.3 percent for the trailing twelve months ended November 2, 2024, and October 28, 2023, respectively. For the twelve months ended November 2, 2024, and October 28, 2023, includes tax effect of $1.4 billion and $1.0 billion, respectively, related to EBIT, and $35 million and $22 million, respectively, related to operating lease interest.

(d)Total short-term and long-term operating lease liabilities included within Accrued and Other Current Liabilities and Noncurrent Operating Lease Liabilities, respectively.

(e)Average based on the invested capital at the end of the current period and the invested capital at the end of the comparable prior period.