What To Expect From Target’s Q2 Earnings
Target (NYSE: TGT) is scheduled to announce its fiscal second quarter results on Wednesday, August 16. The company announced better-than-expected first quarter results, as both its revenue and earnings per share (EPS) came in ahead of market expectations. However, the company’s revenue declined 1% year-over-year (y-o-y) to $16 billion, primarily due to lower comparable store sales, partially offset by a slightly higher store count. Notably, Target’s digital sales grew 22% y-o-y in the first quarter and accounted for 4.3% of total sales.
Target is in somewhat of a transitional phase as it looks to overhaul its business model. The company invested nearly $500 million in the first quarter as part of its store transformation plan, which also included the expansion of small format stores. The retailer plans to invest more than $2 billion this year during this phase.
Target is also heavily investing in e-commerce initiatives, in order to fend off growing competition from online retailers such as Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and brick-and-mortar giant Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT). In fact, Target continues to make a push into e-commerce and an omni-channel model, with recently introduced initiatives such as next-day shipping (Target Restock). In addition, the company also plans to consolidate its two discrete apps, the Target app and savings app Cartwheel, into one app. Target plans to significantly upgrade the Target app with an indoor map that shows your location in the store, along with nearby Cartwheel deals. Moreover, the company also plans to introduce mobile payments to the Target app, sometime later in this year, following in Wal-Mart’s foot steps.
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Target has been investing in these initiatives in response to pressure on comparable sales growth due to declining traffic at brick and mortar stores, driven by small declines in both traffic and average transaction amounts. We expect this pressure to continue into the second quarter as well.
Target’s upcoming initiatives in this transition could lead to some near-term margin pressure given the significant investments they may entail. Accordingly, the company expects to generate about $1 billion less in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in 2017 than in 2016.
Q2 Guidance
Target expects a low single-digit decline in comparable sales in the second quarter. The company also expects its selling, general and administrative costs to grow, primarily due to investments in store services and new capabilities. Altogether, in the second quarter, the company expects to generate EPS in the range of $0.95 to $1.15. Reuters’ compiled analyst estimates forecast revenues of $16.3 billion and earnings of $1.17 per share in Q2.
For the full year 2017, Target expects a low single-digit decline in comparable sales. It also anticipates adjusted EPS in the range of $3.80 to $4.20.
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