Target Surprises With Weak Holiday Season Sales

The doubling of Target's (NYSE: TGT) stock price in 2019 reflected surging optimism on the part of investors who have been betting on the chain's retail rebound. The company provided plenty of data to support that bullish reading, with sales gains accelerating from the second to third quarter. Rising customer traffic rates, improving profitability, and market share gains all seemed to set the retailer up for a banner finish to the year.

Yet the retailing business is inherently hard to predict, especially around the competitive holiday shopping season. Target's sales update report, issued on Wednesday, demonstrated that difficulty, as management had to walk back its fourth-quarter outlook after a soft holiday performance.

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Source Fool.com