Target just posted its strongest full-year sales growth in 13 years
Target said Tuesday that last year saw the highest comparable sales growth since 2005.
Its quarterly revenue just topped analysts' expectations, and earnings fell in-line with estimates.
Target jumped in early trading Tuesday after the company said last year saw the strongest full-year comparable sales growth since before the financial crisis.
The Minneapolis-based retailer's report was welcome news for those tracking the broader retail space, which is expected to endure more brick-and-mortar pain and transformation this year.
Here are Target's fourth-quarter earnings, compared with what analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting:
Revenue: $22.98 billion versus $22.95 billion expected.
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS): $1.53 versus $1.53 expected.
Its comparable sales grew at a rate of 5% last year, and by 5.3% in the fourth-quarter. Total revenue for the fourth-quarter totaled nearly $23 billion, down slightly from the same period a year earlier.
Digital sales continue to be a fast-growing area for the retailer. Last year marked the fifth-straight year that Target reported comparable digital-sales growth of more than 25%.
Additionally, the company said it bought back $617 million in shares in the fourth-quarter.
At the end of the year, Target said, it had approximately $1.6 billion remaining under its current $5 billion share repurchase program.
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