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Sales and profits slipped for Target during the crucial holiday quarter as customers held back on spending and the company said there will be “meaningful pressure” on its profits to start the year because of tariffs and other costs.The retailer beat most estimates, however, and shares rose slightly before the opening bell Tuesday.Target reported net income of $1.1 billion, or $2.41 per share, far better than the $2.26 that Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey by FactSet. That is down from the $1.38 billion profit the company reported in the same period last year, though the most recent quarter had one fewer week of sales.Revenue fell to $30.91 billion, from $31.9 billion, but that also beat expectations.Americans have been pulling back on spending and retailers face a lot of uncertainty in the year ahead.President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, pushing markets in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. lower, and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies, not to mention China.China said Tuesday that it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy, and beef, and also expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies.Consumers have already been pulling back on discretionary spending because the costs of groceries have risen so sharply. That is an area where Target can be vulnerable because so much of its sales come from discretionary items like clothing, electronics purchases.Target said Tuesday that it expects sales to be flat in 2025, and that its earnings per share will be between $8.80 and $9.80. Wall Street had been projecting per-share earnings of $9.29 for the year.During the most recent quarter, comparable salesthose from stores and digital channels operating for at least 12 monthsrose 1.5%. That was higher than the 0.3% gain during the third quarter. Target posted a 2% gain in the second quarter and a 3.7% drop in the first quarter.Speaking about the current quarter, Chief Financial Officer Jim Lee said that sales declined in February in part because of brutal weather across the U.S. But sales should pick up, Lee said.“We will continue to monitor these trends and will remain appropriately cautious with our expectations for the year ahead,” Lee said. Anne D’Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer
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E-Commerce
Almost half of Americans have considered or plan to move abroad to improve their happiness, according to a Harris poll published today. Specifically, the poll found that four in 10 Americans have at least thought about leaving the country within the next few years. And among Gen Z and millennials, almost one in five respondents reported seriously considering an imminent move. The results show that Americans are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the American Dream as the cost of essentials like rent, healthcare, and education continues to rise. Here are three main takeaways from the poll: Home ownership and cost of living are top of mind Per the new poll, 68% of Americans are in agreement about two key statements: These days I feel like I am surviving instead of thriving, and Homeownership is no longer attainable for most American citizens. Of those who said that theyd consider moving out of the U.S., 49% reported cost of living as their primary consideration. Dissatisfaction with the current political leadership ranked as the second highest concern. Sentiments around cost of living revealed in this poll are backed up by several recent reports. In early February, an update from the Labor Department showed that the consumer price indexan inflation barometer that considers essential costs like gas, groceries, and carswas up 3.3% year-over-year, compared to the previous January. For the past six months, inflation rates have hovered above the Feds 2% target. Meanwhile, Zillows most recent Home Value Index found that, As elevated mortgage rates dampen demand for home purchases, many potential buyers are staying renters for longer, predicting a 3.7% rise in single-family rents for 2025. The current economic reality can be even more disheartening for families: Based on a recent analysis by the National Womens Law Center, the average family would need to earn at least $180,000 annually in 2025 to comfortably afford the national cost of infant care. Who is more likely to be eyeing the exit? According to the new Harris Poll, these converging economic factors are more likely to push away younger, non-white, and LGBTQ+ Americans. While only 25% of Gen X and 26% of baby boomers said theyd considered moving abroad, 63% of Gen Zers and 52% of millennials said the same, respectively. Additionally, LGBTQIA+, Hispanic, and Black respondents were all more likely to consider moving. Dual citizenship is attractive for young Americans Younger Americans also expressed a greater desire than their older counterparts to obtain dual citizenship, with 66% of Gen Zers and millennials affirming that they were at least somewhat interested in pursuing it for travel freedom, economic opportunities, and better access to public services. The top 10 countries that Americans would consider moving to, in order, are as follows: Canada The U.K. Australia France Italy Japan Mexico Spain Germany New Zealand
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia.The move comes just days after a disastrous Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance tore into Zelenskyy for what they perceived as insufficient gratitude for the more than $180 billion U.S. has appropriated for military aid and other assistance to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.A White House official said Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal and wants Zelenskyy “committed” to that goal. The official added that the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance.The order will remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia, the official said.The halting of military aid comes some five years after Trump held up congressionally authorized assistance to Ukraine as he sought to pressure Zelenskyy to launch an investigation into Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Trump’s first impeachment.In the lead-up to the 2024 election, Trump vowed a quick end to the war in Ukraine, even once boasting that he could bring a halt to the fighting in one day. He has shown increasing frustration with Zelenskyy over the war while simultaneously expressing confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has long admired, can be trusted to keep the peace if a truce is reached.Trump earlier on Monday slammed Zelenskyy for suggesting that the end of the war likely “is still very, very far away.” Zelenskyy had suggested it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war as he tried to offer a positive take on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week’s White House meeting.“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, responding to comments Zelenskyy made late Sunday to reporters.Trump, at a White House event later Monday, referred to Zelenskyy’s reported comments and asserted the Ukrainian leader “better not be right about that.”Zelenskyy later took to social media in an effort to further explain his thinking. He did not directly refer to Trump’s comments, but underscored that it “is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible.”“We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns,” Zelenskyy added. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.”Trump administration and Ukrainian officials had been expected to sign off on a deal during Zelenskyy’s visit last week that would have given the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals in part to pay back the U.S. for aid it has sent Kyiv since the start of the war. The White House had billed such a pact as a way to tighten U.S.-Ukrainian relations in the long term.Vance, in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity that aired Monday evening, said European allies were doing Ukraine a disservice by not pressing Zelenskyy to find an endgame to the war.“A lot of our European friends puff him up,” Vance said. “They say, you know, you’re a freedom fighter. You need to keep fighting forever. Well, fighting forever with what? With whose money, with whose ammunition and with whose lives?”Democrats said the pausing of aid to Ukraine was dangerous and ill-advised.Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, who is cochair of the Congressional EU Caucus, said the decision “is reckless, indefensible, and a direct threat to our national security.”The Biden administration provided Kyiv with more than $66.5 billion in military aid and weapons since the war began. It had left unspent about $3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding to send more weapons to Ukraine from existing U.S. stockpilesa sum that had not been affected by the foreign aid freeze that Trump put in place when he first took office.“This aid was approved by Congress on a bipartisan basisRepublicans and Democrats alike recognized that standing with Ukraine is standing for democracy and against Putin’s aggression,” Boyle said in a statement. “Yet, Trump, who has repeatedly praised Putin and undermined our allies, is now playing political games with critical military assistance.”Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, who served as counsel to House Democrats in the first impeachment inquiry against Trump, said the pausing of aid was “another extortion” of Zelenskyy.“This is the exact opposite of peace through strength,” Goldman said. “Instead, what it is is it’s another extortion of President Zelenskyy, illegally withholding aid in order to get President Zelenskyy to agree to a minerals deal.”Trump’s national security adviser said Zelenskyy’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the U.S. administration will be able to deal with going forward.“Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said Monday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?”Waltz added another layer of doubt about U.S. support as other high-profile Trump allies, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Lindsey Graham, have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy is becoming untenable.Angela Stent, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council, said Putin is likely in no rush to end the war amid the fissures between Trump and Zelenskyy and between Europe and the U.S. about the way ahead.“He thinks Russia is winning. . . . And he thinks that as time goes on, the West will be more fractured,” said Stent, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.Trump on Monday suggested he hasn’t given up on the economic pact, calling it “a great deal.” He added that he expected to speak about the deal during his Tuesday address before a joint session of Congress.Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who cochairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, spoke with Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, earlier Monday about getting the mineral rights deal back on track.Key GOP senators also indicated before the announcement of paused aid that they see a path to put U.S.-Ukraine relations back on track.“We got to lower the temperature,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., “and get to a deal that’s economically beneficial and takes care of our interests as well as the interests of the Ukrainian people.”Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who is a close ally of Trump, said he believes the president and Zelenskyy can “move past it.”“Getting the minerals deal done is a first step,” Mullin said. After that, he said, Zelenskyy needs to be “realistic on what a peac deal looks like.” Associated Press writers Tracy Brown, Lolita C. Baldor and Marc Levy contributed to this report. Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller and Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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