Target’s CEO is stepping down as sales continue to plunge

[Cladyclad]

Target is a easy af boycott store tbh lol

its nothing there u need to have and it’s expensive

 

[AAKing23]

I got a baby so Target and Amazon have remained staples. But beyond tariffs and DEI, Target has made it incredibly hard/annoying to shop in-store with the amount of shyt locked up, and out here, taking away self checkout in many locations. I do order pickup which is great for me, because I no longer make impulse purchases - another thing lower sales for target. You’re supposed to go there for paper towels, laundry detergent, and sparkling water and walk out with that stuff plus 3 candles, a new workout outfit and water bottle, and some trail mix you didn’t need.

Yeah this is something else that's gotten on my nerves and is why I don't go as often. But I literally have a Target Distribution center down the street do when I order online it's damn near instant

 

[Phantum]

Keep it going

 

[Gloxina]

FAFO

 

[bnew]

[News] Target plunges 10% premarket as EPS falls 20% to $2.05 and comparable sales drop 1.9%

Spoiler: text

Posted on Wed Aug 20 11:51:40 2025 UTC

/r/wallstreetbets/comments/1mvcm1f/target_plunges_10_premarket_as_eps_falls_20_to/

No paywall: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/target-beat-low-earnings-expectations-as-shares-plunge-103016404.html

Target (TGT) continues to miss the mark on earnings day.

The results on Wednesday morning aren't as shockingly bad as the first quarter, but the retailer is still struggling to find its place in the new economic norm of more discerning shoppers.

Target's second quarter earnings narrowly surpassed consensus forecasts as it wrung out cost savings. The company also maintained the full-year outlook it slashed three months ago.

But headwinds from a pressured US consumer, an influx of tariffs from the Trump administration, market-share loss to rival Walmart (WMT), and operational challenges were apparent.

Target's comparable sales fell 1.9% from a year ago, led by a 3.2% drop at its stores. Comparable digital sales increased 4.3%. Gross profit margins declined to 29% from 30% a year ago.

"While we're not pleased with the results, we're encouraged by the improved performance as we go into the third quarter of the year," Target chair and CEO Brian Cornell told me by video call.

Prior to earnings day, Target's stock was down 23% in 2025, compared to Walmart's 13% gain. It shed 9% in premarket trading on Wednesday.

Fixing what ails Target is about to be someone else's responsibility.

Target is tapping a homegrown talent as its next CEO at one of the most pivotal moments in the company's 63-year history.

The discounter announced that longtime CEO Cornell's heavily groomed No. 2, Michael Fiddelke, will take over as CEO on Feb. 1, 2026. Cornell, who has been CEO of Target since August 2014, will slide into the executive chair position for an undetermined period of time. Fiddelke joined Target in 2003 as an intern and rose through the ranks to CFO and then COO.

Earnings analysis

Second quarter net sales: -0.9% year over year to $25.2 billion, vs. estimates for $24.53 billion
Gross profit margin: 29% vs. 30% a year ago, vs. estimates for 28.08%
Diluted earnings per share: -20.2% year over year to $2.05, vs. estimates for $2.01
Comparable sales: -1.9% year over year, vs. -3.14% estimate (Last year, comparable sales rose 2%.)

Digital comparable sales: +4.3%

What else caught our attention

Inventory rose +2.2% from the year-ago period (estimates: +3.44%).
The company didn't repurchase any stock in the quarter; $8.4 billion remains available to repurchase under a prior authorization.
The number of transactions fell 1.3% in the quarter, and the average transaction amount dropped 0.6%.
Full-year earnings per share are projected to be $7 to $9 (fiscal year 2024: $8.86), compared to estimates of $7.28. Comparable sales down by a low-single-digit percentage.

Previous guidance (May): $7 to $9; low-single-digit percentage drop in comp sales.
Original 2025 guidance: $8.80 to $9.80.

"Boycotts don't work" huh?

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Posted on Wed Aug 20 14:27:24 2025 UTC

https://i.redd.it/vijzr2xmp6kf1.jpeg

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Commented on Wed Aug 20 14:54:05 2025 UTC

Go maga, go broke

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│ Commented on Wed Aug 20 15:19:07 2025 UTC
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│ Go fash, lose cash
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Commented on Wed Aug 20 14:47:04 2025 UTC

https://preview.redd.it/dfxam2ews6k...bp&s=8dd4003e1075c238ca4cff17aab027c8bba9cc9d

Targets stock is down 7% today and down 29% YTD. Boycotts work when people put their money where their mouths are.

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│ Commented on Wed Aug 20 14:57:52 2025 UTC
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│ Another daily reminder that in the end hate always loses.
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│ │ Commented on Wed Aug 20 14:59:56 2025 UTC
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│ │ Sometimes the fight just takes a little longer than expected.
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│ │ │
│ │ │

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│ │ │ Commented on Wed Aug 20 15:31:07 2025 UTC
│ │ │
│ │ │ It almost always takes longer than expected. That's one of the issues with the current fights. People don't realize how much time this stuff takes because they learned about things like the Civil Rights Movement after the fact so they don't realize how long change has always taken.
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Spoiler: text

Commented on Wed Aug 20 14:47:04 2025 UTC

https://preview.redd.it/dfxam2ews6k...bp&s=8dd4003e1075c238ca4cff17aab027c8bba9cc9d

Targets stock is down 7% today and down 29% YTD. Boycotts work when people put their money where their mouths are.

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Spoiler: text

│ Commented on Wed Aug 20 21:02:05 2025 UTC
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│ Red line go brrrr
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│ In all seriousness, even if they get the most perfomatively liberal and "hip with the young people" CEO in America to replace him, idk if they'll bounce back quickly.
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│ So many people used to go to target out of boredom before they joined the boycott. This boycott has shown a lot of folks, particularly those bored folks, their wallets are a little fatter, and their homes are a little less cluttered when they dont go to target. Getting those folks back is going to be very hard in this economy where every dollar counts.
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│ I'd be curious to know who they replace this guy with. And what performative bullshyt they are planning to unveil for damage control lol
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│ Idk. To me, they'll always be the company that rolled back DEI during black history month. Idk if i'll ever go back in any meaningful way.
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[bnew]

Target’s CEO is stepping down as customers turn away


https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=R5uUebjQXbg

Channel Info CNN
Subscribers: 18.6M

Description

Spoiler

Target CEO Brian Cornell is stepping down after 11 years at the retailer, as the company faces slumping sales and backlash to its retreat on DEI. Michael Fiddelke, Target’s current chief operating officer, will replace Cornell on February 1, 2026. CNN’s Vanessa Yurkevich reports. #CNN #News


Transcripts

Show transcript

 

[Dameon Farrow]

Capitulate to don and this is the result.

Coke will be in the same boat if they are actually crazy enough to switch all their products to cane sugar. People will love it until they see the inevitable price hike. There is a reason corn syrup is so popular in soda production.

 

[Rarely-Wrong Liggins]

If target was smart they would have never publicly did anything DEI...you can have internal policies that promote diversity without ever calling it out. Some other companies have done that without any issues.

Also why aren't black folk boycotting Facebook or IG?

When I got hired on with Union Pacific back in April, I was shocked at the in your face diversity video we sat through during orientation. It was something you would have seen in Silicon Valley during the heyday of DEI. They also ask you about DEI during the interview but I hedged my answer on that one.

For a company where middle and upper level management get into verbal brawls on daily conference calls it is very pro DEI without explicitly stating it. A lot of companies should have taken that route instead of trying to virtue signal when the political climate leaned more to the left. I have to give Costco credit for standing on business and not folding to the fascists like their corporate brethren.

 

[IsThatBrothaMouzone?]

Walmart is a negative for poor black people, in fact its the reason we only have few options. We are arguing two different things. You want less options in a 1 mile radius I want more. The Walmarts and dollar stores have ruined quality food options for most blacks

Facts.

Only time I used Walmart at all was in college.

Outside of that, their pricing was never cheap if you're eating healthy food. Produce is trash compared to better grocers.

They charge less for cookies, ice cream, chips, low quality hot dogs, white bread, sugary cereals, soda etc. If you're eating good food....different story. Only place you'll CONSISTENTLY see people with grocery carts full of junk. Hell just look at IG/TikTok when those redneck moms show everyone what their family eats in a week. The only vegetables are bags of salad.....and that's only because they can drown the salad in ranch dressing, croutons and bologna. Look at the bags and items and it's ALWAYS Walmart.

 

[IsThatBrothaMouzone?]

Coke will be in the same boat if they are actually crazy enough to switch all their products to cane sugar. People will love it until they see the inevitable price hike. There is a reason corn syrup is so popular in soda production.

Depends.

Feel like it's all about education/where you live.

Redneck/working class white people simply don't drink water. They will guzzle ANYTHING but water. Frankly they barely like 100% orange juice, apple juice, grape juice and cranberry juice.

Their whole palate is geared towards cheap, low quality bullshyt like HFCS sodas, energy drinks, sweet tea with more sugar than tea etc.

I don't keep lots of soda in the home for the most part. I'll go to the store and get a few bottles of the Mexican version of Coke and Sprite. All the other ones like Jarritos, Squirt etc., have various dyes and shyt, so I avoid those too. The Mexican soda....you have one bottle and you're good. HFCS it's like it leaves you thirsty needing more. Corn subsidies are a bytch.

 

[Robbie3000]

No it was a good strategic idea from a business standpoint. They took a gamble that repercussions from a hostile federal administration would be worse for a company that engages in a lot of interstate commerce, than a temporary loss of sales from the liberal contingent.

We have seen what Trump has done to those universities and the law firms. And arguably he could strangle the entire companny, if Target decided to spearhead a resistance.


As we speak Costco is engaged in costly litigation in 19 states for doing exactly that. And the federal DOJ is looking for anything to trip them up also.

I was at a National Minority Suppliers council meeting (an organization that promotes diversity for suppliers) and the vast majority of Fortune 500 did not fold. They just found a way around it by removing the “DEI” tag but keeping the same diversity goals.

Target for whatever reason tried to show their ass. They really thought poor whites who can barely afford Walmart and Dollar General were going to start shopping at Target.

 

[Dameon Farrow]

Depends.

Feel like it's all about education/where you live.

Redneck/working class white people simply don't drink water. They will guzzle ANYTHING but water. Frankly they barely like 100% orange juice, apple juice, grape juice and cranberry juice.

Their whole palate is geared towards cheap, low quality bullshyt like HFCS sodas, energy drinks, sweet tea with more sugar than tea etc.

I don't keep lots of soda in the home for the most part. I'll go to the store and get a few bottles of the Mexican version of Coke and Sprite. All the other ones like Jarritos, Squirt etc., have various dyes and shyt, so I avoid those too. The Mexican soda....you have one bottle and you're good. HFCS it's like it leaves you thirsty needing more. Corn subsidies are a bytch.

You make a great point. A lot of them are on some form of welfare ironically so they might have a little change left over to adjust. But most folks will see Pepsi cheaper and decide it's not that serious. Coke products will become a 'treat' for folks like that. Not a good place to be going into a winding down economy. Especially with how much product they push out compared to others.

 

[Regular Developer]

I stopped going to the one near me because they lock up everything. And they opened up a Burlington right beside it so that's probably taking more money away from them.

In NJ? Cause they got rid of the best buy near the Target and Whole food where I used to be at and replaced it with a Burlington

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

I was at a National Minority Suppliers council meeting (an organization that promotes diversity for suppliers) and the vast majority of Fortune 500 did not fold. They just found a way around it by removing the “DEI” tag but keeping the same diversity goals.

Target for whatever reason tried to show their ass. They really thought poor whites who can barely afford Walmart and Dollar General were going to start shopping at Target.

The problem is that a lot of these companies tied numbers and quotas to the "DEI" tag.

My company didn't, so what we did was just changed the name and the mission statement and kept it moving.

 

[Ethnic Vagina Finder]

In NJ? Cause they got rid of the best buy near the Target and Whole food where I used to be at and replaced it with a Burlington

Yeah. I stopped going to that target over a year ago. I hit up the whole foods once in a blue moon.