Target Reports Earnings Shortfall, Feeble Sales Outlook, But Strong Online Sales

Thanks to a disappointing holiday season and other pressures, Target’s 4th quarter and fiscal 2016 sales and earnings fell short of Wall Street forecasts. The company also lowered its outlook for fiscal 2017. One bright sign was that, despite the quarterly drop in same-store sales (1.5 percent), compared to the 1.4 percent expected, digital channel sales rose a robust 34 percent. EPS was $1.45 for the quarter -- $4.58 for the year --  versus $1.51 expected by the Thomson Reuters analyst consensus. Fourth quarter revenue was $20.69 billion versus $20.7 billion expected by analysts. CEO Brian Cornell said the dismal 4th quarter was due to “the impact of rapidly-changing consumer behavior, which drove very strong digital growth but unexpected softness in our stores.” [ Image credit: © Target, Wikimedia ]