• Target’s Q1 2026 earnings call drew CEO Michael Fiddelke, CFO Jim Lee, Chief Merchandising Officer Cara Sylvester, Chief Operating Officer Lisa Roath, IR head John Hulbert, and analysts including Jefferies’ Corey Tarlowe, Wolfe Research’s Spencer Hanus, Goldman Sachs’ Kate McShane, Morgan Stanley’s Simeon Gutman, Oppenheimer’s Rupesh Parikh, UBS’ Michael Lasser, and JPMorgan’s Christopher Horvers.
• Q1 net sales rose 6.7% to USD 25.4 billion, driven by a 5.6% comp on 4.4% traffic growth; digital first-party sales rose nearly 9%, led by more than 27% growth in same-day delivery.
• Full-year guidance moved to net sales growth centered around 4%, up 2 percentage points from the prior range; Lee expects EPS to land near the high end of the USD 7.5 to USD 8.5 range, citing Q2 as the toughest comparison as Target laps last year’s Nintendo Switch 2 launch.
• Gross margin was 29%, up about 80 basis points on supply chain leverage, growth in higher-margin revenue streams such as Roundel and Target Plus, and lower markdowns; SG&A rate rose to 21.9% as payroll, training, marketing, and incentives increased, while last year included nearly USD 600 million of legal settlement benefits.
• Roath flagged improved in-stocks and three-year highs in store experience metrics, while calling out ongoing friction in findability and availability; she announced Jeff England as Chief Global Supply Chain and Logistics Officer, alongside new upstream capacity including a Houston receive center expected to process about 25 million cartons annually.

Disclaimer: This news brief was created by Public Technologies (PUBT) using generative artificial intelligence. While PUBT strives to provide accurate and timely information, this AI-generated content is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. Target Corporation published the original content used to generate this news brief on May 21, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein.