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Investing.com - Target (NYSE:TGT) unveiled a cautious outlook for sales growth in its current financial year as the big-box retailer flagged uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s trade policy, weighing on shares in early U.S. dealmaking on Tuesday.
The Minnesota-based group said it now expects comparable sales growth to be "in a range around flat," compared with Bloomberg consensus projections for an uptick of 1.7%, flagging a "small decline" in net sales in February.
In light of last month’s sales dip and ongoing murkiness around the consumer spending environment, "combined with tariff uncertainty and the expected timing of certain costs within the fiscal year," Target said it now anticipates "meaningful" year-on-year profit pressures in the first quarter "relative to the remainer of the year."
“During February, we saw record performance around Valentines Day. However, our topline performance for the month was soft, as uncharacteristically cold weather across the U.S. affected apparel sales, and declining consumer confidence impacted our discretionary assortment overall,” said Chief Financial Officer Jim Lee in a statement.
Lee added that Target expects to see a "moderation" in this trend as apparel sales respond to warmer weather in the U.S. and shoppers spend more around upcoming holidays like Easter.
"We will continue to monitor these trends and will remain appropriately cautious with our expectations for the year ahead,” Lee said.
The comments come after rival Walmart (NYSE:WMT) issued downbeat annual sales and profit guidance last month, due to a need to carefully approach the ongoing trade landscape.
Meanwhile, economic data points have shown that sentiment among U.S. shoppers has slumped to a 15-month low, with households and businesses fretting over the implications of Trump’s tariffs on prices.
Figures last week found that consumer expenditures also fell for the first time in almost two years in January, while inflation expectations soared.
The numbers have hinted at a possible sluggishness -- or even contraction -- in the U.S. economy in the first quarter. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model now sees annualized growth in the current quarter at -2.8%, reversing from +2.3% last week.
Still, Target delivered a 1.5% increase in comparable sales in the fourth quarter, topping estimates for an uptick of 1.18%, thanks in part to strength in its items like apparel, toys and sporting goods during the crucial holiday shopping season. The figure had fallen by 4.4% a year earlier.
Quarterly core profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization also came in at $2.26 billion in the three months ended on February 1, higher than analysts’ forecasts of $2.14 billion.
"Target easily clears the ’could have been worse’ bar, [...] but there’s not a ton to get very excited about, particularly given the cautious near-term commentary," analysts at Vital Knowledge said in a note to clients.