US Stock Market Move | Target Corporation (TGT.US) rose more than 4% as first-quarter results exceeded expectations and full-year guidance was raised.

On Wednesday, Target Corporation (TGT.US) rose more than 4% to $130.84. The financial report showed that Target Corporation's Q1 same-store sales increased by 5.6%, marking the largest increase since the end of 2021, significantly surpassing market expectations of 2.5%; adjusted earnings per share were $1.71, with net sales increasing by 6.7% year-on-year to $25.4 billion, both higher than analysts' expectations of $1.47 and $24.7 billion. The turnaround in performance is attributed to the $2 billion transformation plan launched by the new CEO, Michael Fiedler, which includes securing product supply, lowering prices on 3000 daily items, and addressing consumer pressure from rising energy prices. In the first quarter, all six core product categories of the company achieved growth, with the toy category achieving double-digit growth due to its low-price strategy, the food and beverage category seeing a 6% increase in sales after adding 3000 new items, digital sales soaring by 8.9% year-on-year, and same-day delivery services surging by 27%. Based on its strong performance, Target Corporation has raised its net sales growth forecast for the current fiscal year from 2% to around 4%, marking the first increase in annual sales forecast in two years, while also expecting adjusted earnings per share to be at the high end of the guidance range of $7.50 to $8.50.