Target (TGT) 4Q16 Results and Financial Community Meeting: Company Resets the Bar and Lowers Guidance for 2017

Executive Summary

• Target held its annual Financial Community Meeting on February 28 in New York City.The company is making some major changes in an effort to compete in what CEO Brian Cornell called a “new era of retailing.”
• Cornell outlined plans for the company to spend $7 billion over the next three years—and forfeit $1 billion in annual operating profit as it lowers prices and invests in stores—in an effort to recapture long-term, sustainable growth and stay competitive.
• Target will invest the $7 billion in capital in digital operations; remodeling its existing big-box stores and expanding its smaller-format stores; launching new, exclusive lines; and lowering prices on staple products.
• The company reported revenues of $20.69 billion for 4Q16, down 4.3% and slightly below the $20.70 billion consensus estimate. Total company same-store sales declined by 1.5%, versus analysts’ estimate of a 1.4% decline and the company’s previous guidance of a 1.0%–1.5% decline.