Target (NYSE:TGT) raised its fourth-quarter sales forecast Thursday after more consumers turned to its stores and website for holiday shopping — particularly on days known for deep discounts.
The big-box retailer now expects comparable sales in the fiscal fourth quarter to grow by about 1.5%. That’s better than its most recent outlook that the metric would be approximately flat. Comparable sales includes sales on Target’s website and stores open at least 13 months.
Yet the Minneapolis-based discounter did not lift its profit outlook — an indication that deals motivated shoppers. Target anticipates fourth-quarter earnings per share will range from $1.85 to $2.45 and full-year earnings per share will be between $8.30 and $8.90. Target will report full fourth-quarter earnings results March 4.
Target cut its profit guidance in early November after it posted its biggest earnings miss in two years and blamed some of its troubles on softer sales of discretionary merchandise and the costs of preparing for a short-lived port strike in October.
Target’s report is the latest glimpse into a crucial season for the industry. Data so far has suggested it went better than feared, but investors have not been impressed. Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) and American Eagle (NYSE:AEO), for example, all raised their fourth-quarter outlooks Monday, but shares of some of those companies traded lower that day.
TGT shares declined $3.90, or 2.9%, to $130.61.
