Target Shares Climb 6% Premarket After Results Exceed Expectations

Target Corp. on Wednesday posted quarterly adjusted earnings and sales that outstripped Wall Street's expectations. The retailer said first-quarter net earnings were $681 million, or $1.23 a share, compared with $632 million, or $1.05 a share, a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $1.21, more than the 91 cents a share anticipated in a FactSet survey of analysts. Sales were $16.02 billion. That's slightly down from $16.19 billion a year ago, but above the FactSet forecast of $15.62 billion. Same-store sales in the first quarter fell 1.3%, Target said. It forecast second-quarter adjusted earnings of 95 cents to $1.15 a share, compared with the current consensus of $1 a share. The stock has tumbled 25% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.2%.