Performance Recovery and Upgraded Guidance: U.S. Retail Giant 'Target' Accelerates Profit Margin Improvement

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) reported diluted earnings per share of $1.71 and revenue of $25.4 billion (approximately KRW 34 trillion) for the first quarter of 2026. Both its brick-and-mortar and digital channels contributed to a mid-6% year-over-year increase in sales, and gross margin expanded to 29%. The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue growth outlook to about 4% year over year and expects adjusted operating margin to be at least 0.2 percentage points higher than in 2025, while continuing to invest in new stores and remodels. It also plans to maintain roughly $8.3 billion (KRW 11 trillion) in share-repurchase authorization.

In the first quarter of 2025, a one-time gain from settling card-processing fees led to a more than 20% year-over-year decline in GAAP EPS, whereas adjusted EPS rose by more than 30%.

Meanwhile, CEO Brian C. Cornell sold 50,000 shares of common stock on the open market through a trust, raising about $6.5 million (KRW 9 billion). He continues to hold approximately $42.2 million (KRW 60 billion) in Target shares—directly and indirectly—at current market prices.

Under newly appointed CEO Michael Fiddelke, who took the helm on February 1, Target has restructured its leadership team, streamlined its organization and realigned store staffing by cutting several hundred positions to prioritize customer-experience improvements and rebuild trust. In March, the company celebrated the opening of its 2,000th U.S. store in North Carolina and confirmed plans to open more than 30 new locations this year, reaffirming its strategy to expand its offline presence.

Target operates about 2,000 stores nationwide, offering groceries, household essentials, apparel and more. As a leading discount retailer alongside Walmart and Amazon, it is viewed as a barometer of U.S. middle-class consumer spending. Even as inflation cools, the U.S. retail sector continues to face consumer price sensitivity, intensifying e-commerce competition and rising labor and shrinkage costs, making store efficiency, omnichannel investment and cost control top priorities.