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Retail
Costco beats estimates but flags tariff uncertainty
Costco beat revenue and earnings estimates last quarter as comparable sales rose, but flagged an uncertain tariff landscape in the United States after February’s Supreme Court ruling. Revenue was up 9.2% to US$69.60 billion in the quarter to 15 February, beating Zacks estimates of $69.24 billion. Earnings per share came in at $4.58, rising from $4.02 and surpassing estimates of $4.55. “The future impact of tariffs remains extremely fluid, as the recently eliminated IEEPA [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] tariffs have now been replaced with new global tariffs for at least the next 150 days,” said CEO Ron Vachris on an earnings call. A 10% blanket tariff has been imposed under a different statute, rising to 15% this week. Costco sued the U.S. government in December, saying it sought a full refund of import duties if IEEPA tariffs were ruled unlawful. A U.S. Court of International Trade judge ruled this week that importers are entitled to refunds with interest, and a hearing on the government’s refund plans is set for tomorrow. Total tariff refunds could return $168-182 billion to importers, economists have estimated. “Regarding IEEPA tariff refunds, it is not yet clear what the process will be, what refund
Retail
Return to growth forecast buoys Target shares
Target Corporation shares rose after it forecast its first sales growth in four years, despite reporting a fall in profit for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025. The American big-box retailer said net earnings dropped 5.2% to US$1.046 billion (A$1.484 billion) and diluted earnings per share (EPS) eased 4.5% to $2.30 on net sales which dipped 1.5% to $30.453 billion in the three months ended 31 January 2026. For the full year, net earnings fell 9.4% to $3.705 billion, and diluted EPS decreased 8.2% to $8.13 on net sales, which were 1.7% down at $104.78 billion. But Target said it expected net sales growth of around 2% in 2026, the first rise after three years of falls, due to a small increase in comparable sales with new store and non-merchandise sales contributing more than one percentage point of growth. It also forecast adjusted EPS of $7.50 to $8.50 in 2026, with Q1 adjusted EPS to be flat to up slightly from last year's $1.30 and stronger year-over-year EPS growth expected through the balance of the year.Source: Target CorpAlthough Q4 revenue was below the $30.48 billion forecast by analysts polled by LSEG, adjusted EPS of $2.44 beat expectations of $2.16. Target shares (NYSE: TGT) rose $7.63 (6.74%) to close at $1
Retail
Coles shares fall on half year results
Coles has reported a 11.3% fall in net profit after tax (NPAT) to A$511 million (US$363 million) for the first half of the 2026 financial year (H1 FY26). However, the supermarkets and liquor group said reported NPAT excluding significant items grew 12.5% to $676 million on sales revenue which increased 2.5% to $23.618 billion in the 27 weeks to 4 January 2026. Directors declared a fully franked interim dividend of 41 cents per share to be paid on 30 March to shareholders registered on 11 March, up 10.8% from 37 cents in H1 FY25. “We have delivered another strong set of results in a highly competitive operating environment, successfully cycling the competitor industrial action disruption in November and December 2024,” CEO Leah Weckert said in an ASX announcement. She said the momentum in the Coles business had enabled it to continue offering a compelling value proposition to customers, particularly over the festive season, while also achieving further improvements in availability and customer experience metrics. It was clear that Coles' focus on executing against its strategic priorities and the successful delivery of its ADC (average daily customers) and CFC (comparable food costs) transformation investments were d
Retail
Woolworths pops 10.9% on return to growth
Woolworths Group reported improved growth, with shares jumping over 10% despite missing analysts' expectations in the first half of 2026. The group, which runs grocery stores across Australia and New Zealand and Big W, said sales increased by 3.4% to A$37.14 billion. This was below investor expectations, who expected sales to rise by 3.6%. Earnings for the half rose 14.4% to $1.66 billion. However, sales for the second quarter rose by 4.4%, greatly outperforming expectations. This marks a turnaround after the company experienced pressure from investors following a major loss in the market to major rival Coles, and to turn around the poorly performing Big W. “Our focus is to continue to provide value to customers, rebuild trust and maintain sales momentum while making further progress on our strategic priorities to deliver for our customers, team and shareholders,” CEO Amanda Bardwell said. On the earnings call, Bardwell said that shoppers were increasing focus on value, leading to a higher take-up of promotions and loyalty programs. She also said Woolworths introduced 300 items in a lower price program that had led to a significant increase in the number of sales. The company said net profit grew 16.4% to $
Retail
Home Depot profit drops amid slump in home sales
Home Depot’s revenue and earnings fell last quarter amid a slump in home sales, though the company beat estimates. Revenue was down 3.8% year-over-year to US$38.20 billion in the three months to February 1, above LSEG estimates of $38.12 billion. Earnings per share were $2.72, dropping from $3.13 but passing estimates of $2.54. “Throughout fiscal 2025, our teams did an incredible job engaging with our customers and growing market share, and I would like to thank them for their hard work and dedication," said chair, president, and CEO Ted Decker. "For the fourth quarter, our results were largely in-line with our expectations, reflecting the lack of storm activity in the third quarter and ongoing consumer uncertainty and pressure in housing. Adjusting for storms, underlying demand was relatively stable throughout the year.” Gross profit declined 4.4% to $12.47 billion. Operating income was down 14.4% to $3.85 billion. The company reported an 8.5% decrease in customer transactions for the quarter, although the average ticket rose 2.4% to $91.28. Home Depot said the ticket increases were largely to U.S. tariff policies. For fiscal 2026, Home Depot projects sales growth of 2.5-4.5%. Adjusted earnings per share increas

Retail
Walmart beats estimates, buoyed by e-commerce surge
Walmart beat earnings and revenue expectations last quarter due to major boosts in e-commerce, though shares dipped on weaker-than-expected guidance. Adjusted earnings per share were US$0.74, up from $0.66 one year ago and above LSEG estimates of $0.73. Revenue rose 5.6% year-over-year to $190.66 billion, passing estimates of $190.43 billion. “The pace of change in retail is accelerating. It’s exciting. And our financial results show that we’re not only embracing this change, we’re leading it,” said Walmart CEO John Furner, who took over the role on 1 February. Customer spending remains resilient, Furner said on an earnings call, though “the majority of our share gains came from households making more than $100,000.” Walmart U.S. net sales increased by 4.6% to $129.2 billion last quarter, with operating income up 6.6%. This was boosted by a 27% rise in e-commerce sales, the company said. Walmart International sales climbed 11.5% to $35.9 billion, and the segment’s adjusted operating income increased 26.5%. Growth was led by sales in China, and e-commerce sales similarly rose 17%. Sam’s Club U.S. segment reported 2.9% growth in net sales to reach $23.8 billion. Total Walmart adjusted operating income increased
Retail
Barbeques Galore going under, 500 jobs at risk
Barbeques Galore has entered into voluntary administration, leaving hundreds of jobs up in the air. A voluntary administrator, Grant Thorton, was appointed today, with Ankura as the receivers, saying that the business will need to be restructured or sold. Barbeques Galore, Australia’s largest barbecue and outdoor furniture retailer, has 68 company-owned stores and 27 franchise stores across the nation. All in-store and online orders that have been paid for, or part-paid for, will be honoured but gift cards have been cut back to a third of their value. “Management was excited to turn around the business and move to the next evolution of the brand,” said chief executive David White. “Considerable progress has been made in recent months leading to significant improvements across the business and operations; however, ongoing liquidity challenges have led to the necessary restructuring of the business.”
Retail
Target to lay off 500 but lift hours to improve service
Target Corporation is reportedly sacking about 500 people, but increasing staffing to improve service for customers. The American big-box retailer said in an internal employee memo obtained by CNBC that it was changing the way it ran and oversaw stores, reducing the number of store districts and increasing the number of hours worked by frontline store employees. According to the memo, Target is laying off around 500 people, including about 100 at the store district level and about 400 across its supply chain sites, CNBC reported in this article. “This change also fuels our ability to put significantly more payroll in our stores – primarily in additional labour and hours where needed most, but also in new guest experience training for every team member at every store,” the email said. The email written by Chief Stores Officer Adrienne Costanzo and Chief Supply Chain and Logistics Officer Gretchen McCarthy was sent to employees in its headquarters and store field teams on Monday. CNBC quoted a Target spokesperson as declining to say how much additional investment was planned in stores and saying starting wages for store workers, which range from $15 to $24 per hour depending on the location, would not change. Targe
Retail
Walmart reaches a market cap of over US$1 trillion
Walmart has crossed the US$1 trillion (A$1.426 trillion) market cap threshold, joining an exclusive club typically occupied by big tech firms like Nvidia and Alphabet. At the end of Tuesday, the largest grocer in the United States reached a market cap of US$1.02 trillion while shares closed 3% higher at US$121.71. According to TradingView, shares for the company have risen 31.97% over the past year and 14.62% since the start of 2026 at the time of writing. While the grocer continues to appeal to those looking for a bargain, its online offerings are drawing in new, wealthier shoppers seeking convenience. “It’s been a massive digital transformation that Walmart’s gone through over the last few years,” chief investment officer at Accuvest Global Advisors, Eric Clark, told Bloomberg. “They’ve pivoted away from being just a traditional brick-and-mortar retailer to using technology to drive more engagement.” Walmart has also pushed to incorporate AI across its operations, and it is already using the technology to speed up tasks ranging from scheduling to supply chain management. This also follows the company partnering with Alphabet to offer AI-enhanced shopping on Google’s Gemini platform and teaming up with OpenAI