Target stock is up even though sales were down. Why the retailer is getting a surprise bump today

With a newly installed CEO, the company just revealed a much-needed glimmer of hope for 2026.

[Images: Adobe Stock, Zoshua Colah/Unsplash]

Target Corporation on Tuesday reported its all-important fourth-quarter results, which run from the key holiday shopping season in November through January.

Unfortunately for the company, its results were, at best, a mixed bag. Yet despite the underwhelming earnings report, shares in the company are currently rising. Here’s what you need to know.

Target’s Q4 2025 at a glance

Before the opening bell this morning, Target reported its fourth-quarter earnings, which ended on January 31.

Out of all the earnings periods Target reports over the year, Q4 is the most important because it covers the holiday shopping season when consumers are traditionally most willing to spend on non-discretionary items—a category that is Target’s bread and butter.

Here are the most salient metrics for the quarter:

Net sales: $30.45 billion

Net earnings: $1.04 billion

Adjusted earnings-per-share (EPS): $2.44

The good news for the company is that its adjusted EPS of $2.44 was much better than most analysts were expecting. As CNBC notes, an LSEG survey found that most analysts were expecting an adjusted EPS of $2.16.

However, though the company beat on adjusted EPS, its net sales and net earnings both did not meet analyst expectations, and came in lower in Q4 2025 than the same quarter a year earlier.

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