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Target knocks ball out of park in first quarter

Revenue jumps 23%, EPS soars way above analyst estimates

Another bullseye (Photo: Andrei Stanescu/iStock)

Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) grew its top and bottom lines at a blistering pace in the first quarter, with total revenue increasing by nearly 23% year-over-year to $24.2 billion, digital revenue climbing by 50% and adjusted earnings per share of $3.69 handily beating analysts’ median estimates of $2.20 a share.

The Minneapolis-based retailer reported operating income of $2.4 billion, up 407% from 2020 levels. Shares were up strongly in morning trading Wednesday amid a sharply down day for U.S. equities.

For the second quarter, which is roughly halfway over, the company said it expects mid- to high-single-digit growth in “comparable” sales, defined as sales generated at a store location compared to historical levels at that location. Operating margin rates, which quadrupled to 9.8% in the first quarter, will be well above the second-quarter 2019 rate of 7.2%, but not as high as the record 10% rate in the second quarter of 2020, Target said.

Revenue for same-day pickup and delivery services grew by more than 90%, while drive-up services revenue soared by 123%, Target said. More than 95% of Target’s total first-quarter sales were fulfilled by its stores. Target has 1,909 U.S. stores and 44 distribution centers. It is also constructing micro-fulfillment facilities adjacent to stores to support store and e-fulfillment operations.


On Monday, Target said it would launch same-day pickup, drive-up and delivery services for alcohol items. The option is now available for pickup or drive-up orders at over 1,200 stores across the country, Target said. By the end of May, same-day delivery will be available through its Shipt grocery fulfillment service at more than 600 stores.

Target’s results come the day after rival Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) posted strong numbers for the first quarter of the company’s 2022 fiscal year.

Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.