Target Shares Jump due to Improved 2019 Forecast

MINNEAPOLIS, United States — Target Corp forecast full-year adjusted profit above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday and posted better-than-expected holiday quarter results, driven by strong digital sales and higher customer footfall at its stores.

The Minneapolis-based company's shares rose more than 5 percent in early trading.

Target has been investing heavily in its digital business to compete with online behemoth Amazon.com and brick-and-mortar rivals like Walmart. Online sales grew 31 percent in the quarter.

Its comparable sales, that include both in-store and digital sales, rose 5.3 percent, beating analysts estimate of 5.08 percent, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Online contributed 2.4 percentage points to these sales, while the retailer also recorded market share gains across all five of its core merchandise categories that include home and apparel.

The company forecast 2019 adjusted profit between $5.75 and $6.05 per share, above analysts expectations of $5.61 per share. The company's total revenue fell marginally to $22.98 billion in the quarter ended February 2, edging past analysts estimate of $22.96 billion.

By Aishwarya Venugopal; editor: Shailesh Kuber.