Target Corporation

Target delivered a strong Q1 with net sales of $25.4 billion (+6.7% YOY) and 5.6% comp growth driven by a 4.4% traffic increase, with strength across all six merchandise categories and both stores and digital channels. Merchandising newness drove standout results--baby comp trends accelerated more than 5 percentage points after 2,000 new items launched, wellness grew double digits, and new food items sold 50% above prior assortment--while gross margin expanded 80 basis points on supply chain productivity and lower markdowns. Management raised full-year revenue guidance by 2 percentage points (to ~4% growth) and moved EPS expectations to near the high end of the prior range, though cautioned that Q1 benefited from the easiest prior-year comparison and declining consumer sentiment creates near-term uncertainty.