Target Digital Sales Up 4.7% in Q1: Is Circle 360 the Real Driver?
Target Corporation 's TGT digital sales were a bright spot in an otherwise soft first-quarter fiscal 2025, marked by sluggish traffic and a decline in comparable store sales. Digitally originated comparable sales rose 4.7% year over year, reflecting a more than 35% jump in same-day delivery powered by Target Circle 360 and continued momentum in Drive Up.
Target Circle 360 is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of Target's digital strategy. This membership offers same-day delivery with no price markups, not only on Target's own products but also on orders from more than 100 third-party retailers via Shipt. This commitment to pricing transparency provides Target with a notable competitive advantage in a market where rivals often impose hidden fees or inflate partner prices.
Unlike many retail subscription models that are confined to a single brand, Target Circle 360 broadens its appeal by bundling multiple partners, including CVS, Petco, and Lowe's. In the first quarter, Target successfully fulfilled more than 70% of all digital orders within a day, a significant milestone attributed in part to Shipt's expanding driver network and retail penetration.
In a quarter where overall traffic declined 2.4% and average transaction amount slipped 1.4%, Target Circle 360 stood as a growth catalyst. Target also reported a nearly 20% year-over-year improvement in delivery speed, enhancing convenience at a time when consumers are looking for value and fast delivery.
Well, Target's digital gains came against the backdrop of a cautious consumer spending environment and highlight the growing role Circle 360 plays in offsetting those headwinds.
Target Circle 360 vs. Walmart+ & Amazon Prime
Like Target, Walmart Inc. WMT is leaning heavily into same-day delivery to drive digital growth. Walmart has expanded its Walmart+ membership, which includes free same-day delivery on various merchandise. Walmart's store footprint, much like Target's, supports its hybrid fulfillment model, with stores acting as local hubs. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Walmart's global e-commerce sales grew 22%.
Meanwhile, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN continues to set the pace in fast fulfillment. With its Prime membership, Amazon offers same-day or one-day delivery on millions of items, leveraging its vast logistics network. Amazon has also aggressively expanded its same-day sites near major cities to cut delivery times further.
Target's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Target stock has declined 13.7% over the past three months against the industry 's growth of 8.6%.
Target's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 reflects a lower valuation compared to the industry's average of 33.21X. TGT carries a Value Score of B.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Target's current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies a year-over-year decline of 1.9% and 15.2%, respectively.
Target currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and Sells
We're not kidding.
Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent.
Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators, and more, that closed 256 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2024 alone.
See Stocks Now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Target Corporation (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Walmart Inc. (WMT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
22 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Okta's Security Portfolio Expands Clientele: A Sign of More Upside?
Okta OKTA is benefiting from its innovative portfolio that is driving clientele. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, it reported strong momentum among large-cap customers, including Global 2000 companies and government agencies. These large organizations are shaping Okta's product roadmap, pushing the company to deliver advanced identity solutions across workforce, customer and AI-driven use cases. Okta's more than $1 million annual contract value (ACV) customer base grew 20% year over year, a strong sign of enterprise adoption. Companies from critical sectors like energy, telecom and insurance are turning to Okta not only for employee identity security but also for securing APIs and machine-to-machine interactions. In response, the company has introduced solutions such as Identity Governance (OIG), Identity Threat Protection (ITP) and Privileged Access (OPA) to meet the complex demands of these clients. Public sector momentum further underscores this enterprise-led growth. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, four of Okta's top 10 deals came from U.S. government entities. These clients are leveraging the company's FedRAMP-compliant cloud solutions for secure authentication, lifecycle management and automated workflows. Meanwhile, Okta's Customer Identity Cloud (Auth0) is gaining ground in large-scale deployments. A Global 2000 energy company implemented Auth0 across all customer-facing apps, while a major tech reseller switched from Microsoft to Auth0 to boost scalability and developer experience. These moves highlight trust in Okta's ability to deliver secure, seamless and scalable identity experiences for millions of users. CyberArk & SailPoint: OKTA's Identity Rivals to Watch CyberArk Software CYBR, a leader in privileged access management, is frequently compared to Okta for its robust identity security and strong margins. CyberArk's advantage is its comprehensive identity security platform, which has now been further enhanced through acquisitions such as Venafy and Zilla Security. By managing both human and machine identities, the company keeps pace with the growing demand. Its growing customer base helps CyberArk grow revenues through strategic upselling of its integrated security solutions. SailPoint SAIL has established itself as a leader in Identity Governance & Administration, posing direct competition to Okta. SailPoint's strong Identity Security Cloud, supported by an extensive partner ecosystem, delivers seamless integration across hybrid environments. With low-code/no-code workflows and AI-driven access recommendations, SailPoint stands out for managing complex enterprise identities with precision and scalability. OKTA's Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates Shares of Okta have appreciated 26.1% year to date compared with the Zacks Security industry's return of 20.2%. Okta currently trades at a premium with a forward price/cash flow ratio of 23.41, higher than the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector's 20.12X. OKTA has a Value Score of D. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OKTA's 2026 revenues is pegged at $2.86 billion, indicating 9.44% year-over-year growth. The consensus mark for earnings is pegged at $3.28 per share, which increased 2.8% over the past 30 days. The earnings figure suggests 16.73% growth over the figure reported in fiscal 2025. OKTA currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double" Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest. This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%. Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CyberArk Software Ltd. (CYBR): Free Stock Analysis Report Okta, Inc. (OKTA): Free Stock Analysis Report SailPoint, Inc. (SAIL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Globe and Mail
23 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Tesla's Robotaxi Debuts in Pivotal Moment, Shares Spike
Tesla Robotaxi Debuts in Austin Tesla ( TSLA ) shares are breaking out today after the world's leadingelectric vehicle manufacturer finally launched its long-awaited and often delayed robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. TSLA shares are breaking out above multi-week highs and are up more than 6% in early trading as volume turnover is swelling and tracking to levels of more than 60% above the 50-day average volume. Tesla's Slow, Measured Robotaxi Debut Approach Silicon Valley legends like Tesla CEO Elon Musk didn't get to where they are without massive risk-taking and a 'move fast, break things' approach. For instance, after Elon Musk scored his first $175 million fortune with the successful sale of PayPal ( PYPL ) to eBay ( EBAY ), he immediately began deploying most (but not all) of his capital to his new endeavors – SpaceX and Tesla. However, when the 2008 Global Financial Crisis hit, Musk was forced to risk all of his capital (and actually had to borrow money) to survive. The bet paid off, and the rest is history – Musk became the wealthiest person on Earth. Whether it's (formally Twitter) or SpaceX, Musk prefers to move at lightning speed and fix mistakes later. Nevertheless, Musk is wisely taking a measured approach with the robotaxi debut since the stakes are high. With global car sales slumping and Musk's recent political, reputational damage, Tesla's robotaxi service must move forward without a hitch. As a result, Tesla is debuting the robotaxi in a geo-fenced-in zone, charging a low fee of $4.20, and has a safety rider in the front passenger seat to ensure the debut goes smoothly. Thus far, investors are cheering the measured side of Elon Musk. Tesla Robotaxi Details The robotaxi launch is invite-only and includes social media personalities and investors. Tesla is using modified Model Y vehicles (the best-selling car currently) with updated software instead of the futuristic Cybercab concept Musk initially pitched. The move to use Model Ys was likely to avoid falling further behind Alphabet's ( GOOGL ) rapidly expanding 'Waymo' robotaxi service. With Waymo already operating in Austin, investors will be watching to see which service clients choose once Tesla opens up its robotaxi service to the public. Tesla and Elon Musk Still Have a Plethora of Skeptics Between Musk's controversies and slowing sales, TSLA still has its fair share of skeptics. For example, prominent short seller Jim Chanos is bearish on the company, citing valuation concerns and competition. However, these skeptics will likely have to eat their words if Musk and his Tesla team can scale its robotaxi service into 2026. Bottom Line While still in its infancy with a limited, invite-only launch in Austin, the Tesla robotaxi service debut marks a pivotal moment for the company. Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double" Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest. This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%. Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report eBay Inc. (EBAY): Free Stock Analysis Report Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Globe and Mail
23 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
I Predict This "Magnificent Seven" Stock Will Crush Expectations
The "Magnificent Seven" stocks -- Apple, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Microsoft, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), and Tesla -- have all generated impressive returns for their long-term investors. All seven stocks are included in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 indexes, and they often drive the market's performance with their size, growth, and influence. But after years of big gains, most of the Magnificent Seven stocks are losing their luster. Apple is still overwhelmingly dependent on the iPhone, which is vulnerable to high tariffs, competition, and supply chain constraints. Amazon faces stiff competition from cheaper cross-border competitors, Alphabet's Google is being slammed by antitrust regulators and struggling to keep pace with OpenAI's ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence (AI) services, and Microsoft might be headed for an ugly breakup with OpenAI as the AI start-up openly rebels against its top investor. As for Tesla, Elon Musk's divisive actions are likely driving away its potential customers in the saturated EV market. Meta and Nvidia face fewer near-term headwinds than the other five stocks. However, Meta generates nearly all of its revenue from ads, and its growth could slow down as the global economy cools off. Nvidia certainly isn't immune to economic downturns and recessions, but the secular expansion of its AI chipmaking business could offset a lot of that pressure. So looking ahead, I believe Nvidia will continue to shatter Wall Street's expectations and outperform the other Magnificent Seven stocks for the foreseeable future. How did Nvidia become the hottest "Magnificent Seven" stock? Nvidia is the world's largest producer of discrete GPUs. It designs its own chips, but it outsources its manufacturing to third-party foundries like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. With that "fabless" model, Nvidia doesn't need to spend billions of dollars to upgrade its own foundries or develop the smallest, densest, and most power-efficient manufacturing nodes. Nvidia once generated most of its revenue from its gaming GPUs, which can also be used to mine certain cryptocurrencies. But in its latest quarter, it generated less than 9% of its revenue from its gaming GPUs. A whopping 89% came from its data center GPUs -- which include its older A100 chips and current-gen H100 and H200 chips. Nvidia launched its first data center GPUs back in 2008. Unlike traditional CPUs, which only process a single piece of data at a time through scalar processing, GPUs use vector processing to process a broad range of integers and floating-point numbers simultaneously. That makes them better suited for processing complex AI tasks than stand-alone CPUs. Nvidia's sales of data center GPUs rose from 2016 to 2022 as the cloud and AI markets expanded, but they didn't explode until 2023 (fiscal 2024) -- when OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 sparked a global AI infrastructure race. Here's how rapidly that growth engine expanded from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2025 (which ended this January). Metric FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025 Data center revenue growth 58% 41% 217% 142% Data center as percentage of total revenue 39% 56% 78% 88% Total revenue growth 61% 0% 126% 114% Data source: Nvidia. From fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2028, analysts expect Nvidia's revenue and earnings per share to grow at compound annual growth rates of 30% and 28%, respectively, as the AI market continues to expand. Its stock still looks reasonably valued relative to those estimates at 36 times forward earnings. But those estimates could be too conservative -- since Nvidia has comfortably beat Wall Street's top- and bottom-line expectations for nine consecutive quarters. So as the top seller of the picks and shovels for the AI gold rush, Nvidia's revenues and profits should keep crushing analysts' expectations. Why will Nvidia remain the hottest Magnificent Seven stock? Nvidia controls about 98% of the data center GPU market, according to TechInsights. It locks in those customers with its proprietary Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) programming platform. When developers write their AI applications on CUDA, they become optimized for Nvidia's GPUs and can only be executed on its chips. If they want to run that same application on another GPU, they need to be rewritten in other frameworks. That stickiness widens its moat against AMD and other challengers. Nvidia's sales in China are being throttled by the U.S. export curbs, but it can easily offset that pressure with its stronger chip sales in other markets. It can also keep selling less powerful variants of its flagship chips (like its modified H20 chip) to its Chinese customers. Simply put, Nvidia has plenty of ways to keep growing. It's already had a great run over the past decade, but it has an easy path toward outperforming the market and its Magnificent Seven peers. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $664,089!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $881,731!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Leo Sun has positions in Amazon, Apple, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
