Target(US:TGT)2023-11-21 16:00Financial Performance - GAAP diluted earnings per share for Q3 2023 was $2.10, a 36.3% increase from $1.54 in Q3 2022[43] - Total revenue for Q3 2023 was $25.4 billion, a decrease of 4.2% compared to $26.5 billion in Q3 2022[42] - Operating income for Q3 2023 was $1.3 billion, representing a 28.9% increase from $1.0 billion in the prior year[49] - Adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the three months ended October 28, 2023, was $5.96, compared to $4.09 for the same period last year[65] - EBIT for the three months ended October 28, 2023, was $1,342 million, a 29.8% increase from $1,034 million in the prior year, while EBITDA was $2,064 million, up 20.9% from $1,708 million[66] Sales and Traffic - Comparable sales decreased by 4.9% in Q3 2023, driven by a 4.1% decline in traffic and a 0.8% decrease in average transaction amount[52] - Comparable digitally-originated sales declined by 6.0% in Q3 2023, compared to a 0.3% increase in Q3 2022[52] Cash Flow and Liquidity - Cash flow from operating activities for the nine months ended October 28, 2023, was $5.3 billion, significantly up from $552 million for the same period in 2022[42] - The cash and cash equivalents balance was $1.9 billion as of October 28, 2023, compared to $954 million a year earlier, including $1.0 billion in short-term investments[73] - The company expects its sources of liquidity to be adequate for meeting contractual obligations and planned capital expenditures[83] Expenses and Margins - Gross margin rate for Q3 2023 improved to 27.4% from 24.7% in Q3 2022, attributed to lower freight costs and reduced promotional markdowns[56] - Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expense rate increased to 20.9% in Q3 2023 from 19.7% in Q3 2022, reflecting cost increases and lower sales[59] Inventory and Capital Expenditures - Inventory as of October 28, 2023, was $14.7 billion, down from $17.1 billion a year earlier, reflecting improved alignment with sales trends[75] - Capital expenditures for the nine months ended October 28, 2023, decreased to $3.9 billion from $4.3 billion in the prior year[75] Dividends and Shareholder Returns - Dividends paid totaled $507 million ($1.10 per share) for Q3 2023, a 1.9% increase from $502 million ($1.08 per share) in Q3 2022[76] - Total dividends for the nine months ended October 28, 2023, were $1.5 billion ($3.26 per share), reflecting a 13.2% increase from $1.3 billion ($2.88 per share) in the same period of 2022[76] - No share repurchases were made during the nine months ended October 28, 2023[77] Credit and Financing - As of October 28, 2023, the company's credit ratings were A2 from Moody's, A from Standard and Poor's, and A from Fitch[80] - The company obtained a new $1.0 billion 364-day unsecured revolving credit facility in October 2023, expiring in October 2024[81] - The company had $2.1 billion outstanding under its commercial paper program as of October 29, 2022, with no balances outstanding as of October 28, 2023[81] Risk Management and Compliance - There were no material changes in primary risk exposures or management of market risks from the previous fiscal year[88] - The company has maintained effective disclosure controls and procedures as evaluated by management[90] - No material developments were reported for any previously reported legal proceedings during the quarterly period ended October 28, 2023[92]