Major Retailers Report Strong Q3 Results but Issue Cautious Holiday Season Outlooks

Walmart, Target, and Gap Beat Q3 Estimates, but Warn of Economic Pressures and Changing Consumer Behavior

Walmart, Target, and Gap reported better-than-expected Q3 results, but all three issued cautious outlooks for the holiday season, citing economic pressures and changing consumer behavior.
Walmart's Q3 revenue rose 5.2% YoY to $160.84 billion, beating estimates, but the company expects holiday-quarter sales to be flat to slightly negative.
Target's Q3 revenue declined 4.2% YoY to $25.4 billion, but its operating income was up 28.9% YoY to $1.3 billion, exceeding forecasts.
Gap's Q3 revenue fell 7% YoY to $3.8 billion, but its adjusted earnings per share of 59 cents exceeded expectations.
Walmart and Target are working to lower grocery prices to attract more customers and free up their budgets for other purchases.