Minnesota Based Target Missed the Bullseye in Third Quarter

As we come to the end of 2024, we will be seeing year-end lists and reports recapping the year that was. Publicly traded companies are releasing their quarterly reports on how they faired during what was a challenging year for many people.

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Earlier I wrote about the success that one prime retailer had in the third quarter. That one had a strong third quarter, but here’s one that had a middle of the year stretch that shows more downs than ups.

Today we’re looking at Minnesota based Target. As we drew closer to the election, some people tightened up a bit on their spending or some businesses cut back on what they offer people.

The Morning Brew reports from CNBC that this week Target’s stock had the biggest drop in two years when it fell short of Wall Street’s earnings report by 20%. As a result, the company's stock fell 21% on Wednesday, which was the lowest mark in the last year.

Profits for Target fell 12% from $971 million to $854 million in the third quarter. Sadly, for Target that was well below their forecasted expectation. There was a simple explanation; non-essential purchases went down in the third quarter.

Remember, I spoke of people who cut back on their spending.

Roughly half of Target’s business comes from appliances, toys and those non-essential things that people buy because they want instead of there being a need for them.

There was some good news for Target though, their online business was stronger, even though it was still short of what the expectation was.

Also, special sales that the chain offered created an uptick in their digital and in-person traffic. There is room for Target to show improvement for 2025 for sure, it will be interesting to see what they do to try and bring customers back to the bullseye.