Target Corp. on Wednesday posted a 17.5 percent gain in its first-quarter earnings, boosted by strong sales at established stores and in its credit card business, though revenue fell slightly short of expectations.
The nation's second-largest discount retailer reported profit of $651 million, or 75 cents a share, up from $554 million, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts had estimated earnings of 71 cents a share.
Sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, rose 4.3 percent, marking the 11th consecutive quarter that Target's same-store sales outpaced those at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Total revenue for the quarter rose 9.2 percent, to $14.04 billion, from $12.86 billion a year earlier. That was slightly short of analysts' projection of $14.17 billion. Target blamed the shortfall on a cold spring and soft sales in seasonal items such as clothing, sporting goods and lawn and patio items.
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