scorecard
  1. Home
  2. stock market
  3. Target just posted its strongest full-year sales growth in 13 years

Target just posted its strongest full-year sales growth in 13 years

Rebecca Ungarino   

Target just posted its strongest full-year sales growth in 13 years
Stock Market2 min read

Brian Cornell Target CEO 12

Craig Lassig / AP Images

  • Target said Tuesday that last year saw the highest comparable sales growth since 2005.
  • Its quarterly revenue just topped analysts' expectations, and earnings fell in-line with estimates.
  • Watch Target trade in real-time.

Target jumped in early trading Tuesday after the company said last year saw the strongest full-year comparable sales growth since before the financial crisis.

The Minneapolis-based retailer's report was welcome news for those tracking the broader retail space, which is expected to endure more brick-and-mortar pain and transformation this year.

Here are Target's fourth-quarter earnings, compared with what analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting:

  • Revenue: $22.98 billion versus $22.95 billion expected.
  • Adjusted earnings per share (EPS): $1.53 versus $1.53 expected.

Its comparable sales grew at a rate of 5% last year, and by 5.3% in the fourth-quarter. Total revenue for the fourth-quarter totaled nearly $23 billion, down slightly from the same period a year earlier.

Digital sales continue to be a fast-growing area for the retailer. Last year marked the fifth-straight year that Target reported comparable digital-sales growth of more than 25%.

Additionally, the company said it bought back $617 million in shares in the fourth-quarter.

At the end of the year, Target said, it had approximately $1.6 billion remaining under its current $5 billion share repurchase program.

Read more retail news from Markets Insider and Business Insider:

More than 4,300 stores are closing in 2019 as the retail apocalypse drags on - here's the full list

Amazon's reported grocery plans could re-define what a 'store' is

Anheuser-Busch CMO breaks down how Bud Light and Budweiser are facing 'brutal facts' as millennials ditch beer

Target shares.

Markets Insider

Target shares.

Exclusive FREE Slide Deck: Future of Retail:AI by Business Insider Intelligence

READ MORE ARTICLES ON


Advertisement

Advertisement