Target misses by $0.45, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus (156.00)
- Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $1.85 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.45 worse than the FactSet Consensus of $2.30; revenues rose 0.9% year/year to $25.23 bln vs the $25.87 bln FactSet Consensus.
- 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 360™ 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.
- Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.85-2.45 vs. $2.65 FactSet Consensus.