Shares of retailer Target (TGT) are up 15% in premarket trading after the company reported that its sales rose 9% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The discount retailer also said that it expects sales to keep increasing this year, even as shoppers see prices for food, fuel and other goods move higher with inflation.
Target reported that its net income rose 12% to $1.54 billion U.S., or $3.21 U.S. per share, from $1.38 billion U.S., or $2.73 U.S. per share, a year earlier. That was higher than the $2.86 U.S. per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Target’s revenue increased to $31 billion U.S. from the same period a year earlier, slightly below analysts’ expectations of $31.39 billion U.S.
Sales through Target’s same-day services – which include Drive Up, its curbside pickup option; Order Pickup, its in-store retrieval of online purchases; and Shipt, its home delivery service – grew by 45% last year. That’s after 235% growth in 2020.
Target said it anticipates annual revenue growth in the mid single-digits and adjusted earnings per share in the high single-digits. It said it plans to spend $4 billion U.S. to $5 billion U.S. on capital expenditures each year.
Target’s stock has soared 84% since mid-March 2020 when Covid-19 was declared a pandemic. Its annual revenue has reached $106 billion U.S., up nearly 36% over the past two years.
