US retailer Target plans another $1-B investment in new stores to jumpstart sagging consumer sales

TARGET reported a bigger-than-expected drop in comparable sales on Wednesday and offered a wide range of profit outcomes for its holiday quarter, as it cuts prices and makes investments to appeal to cash-strapped US consumers.

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Shares of the Minneapolis-based retailer were down slightly in morning trading. The stock has lost nearly 35% of its value so far this year.

The results mark the first full quarter since Target named longtime executive Michael Fiddelke as its new chief executive officer (CEO) in August to steer the business back to health. The retailer, which has reported three straight quarters of declining comparable sales, said it plans to invest about $1 billion more in 2026 in new stores, remodels and an improvement in its digital business.

On a post-earnings call, Mr. Fiddelke, who takes over the top job in February, laid out other efforts to turn Target around. The company is experimenting with a new operational model across 35 markets that redefines the role of stores in online order fulfillment. Under this approach, only select locations will handle picking and packing of online orders, while other stores will no longer perform that function at all.