In this articleTGTFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTThe Target bullseye logo is seen on the outside of its store at the Lycoming Crossing Shopping Center. Paul Weaver | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesTarget posted a drop in quarterly sales and lowered its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday as the big-box retailer saw choppy spending and shoppers hunting for value.Despite its ongoing struggles, Target stuck by its sales guidance for the all-important holiday season, saying it expects sales to decline by a low single-digit percentage in the fourth quarter. It said it anticipates adjusted earnings per share for the year to come in between $7 and $8, lowering the high end of its previous range of $7 to $9. Much of its new range would be lower than last year, when adjusted earnings per share were $8.86.On a call with reporters, incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke declined to say when he thinks the company’s sales would turn positive again, but said Target is making progress.”We are focused every day on making the right investments and the right decisions to get Target back to growth as quickly as possible,” he said. Fiddelke, who is Target’s chief operating officer and former chief financial officer, will step into the CEO role on Feb. 1. The company announced in August that he would succeed longtime CEO Brian Cornell.He said Target will step up investment next year to try to turn around its stores and boost sales by increasing capital expenditures to $5 billion, a 25% year-over-year jump.Here’s what Target reported for the three-month period that ended Nov. 1 compared with what Wall Street expected, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Earnings per share: $1.78 adjusted vs. $1.72 expectedRevenue: $25.27 billion vs. $25.32 billion expectedTarget’s sales have been roughly stagnant for four years as it faces stiffer competition and has grown weaker in some of the areas that set it apart in the past, including its eye-catching merchandise, its well-organized stores, and its friendly and helpful customer service. Some customers also boycotted the retailer after it rolled back key diversity, equity and inclusion programs, a dynamic that Target blamed in part in May for its weaker sales results.[embedded content]Shares of the company have tumbled, too. As of Tuesday’s close, Target’s stock has fallen about 67% since the company’s all-time high in late 2021 and dropped about 35% so far this year. The stock hit a 52-week low on Wednesday and closed at $86.08, down nearly 3%.Fiddelke laid out three priorities on the day he was named Target’s next CEO: strengthening Target’s reputation as a retailer with stylish, well-designed merchandise, providing a more consistent shopping experience online and in stores, and using technology to move the business forward.[embedded content]At the time, he said he wouldn’t wait to start making changes.Last month, Target announced it would cut 1,800 corporate jobs — its largest layoff in a decade. It has taken steps to sharpen its merchandise and get back its fashion sense, including sending its designers to rodeos and ski lodges for inspiration. And it’s tweaked its online fulfillment strategy at stores to try to free up employees’ time to stock shelves and assist customers.On a call with reporters about the fiscal third-quarter results, Fiddelke pointed to a few other moves the company has made. He highlighted Target Trend Brain, a generative artificial intelligence-powered tool that helps the company’s designers and merchants identify what colors and styles are popular. It also is using synthetic audiences, AI models that simulate how real customers might respond to products or marketing campaigns, before launch.Target on Wednesday anno …
