equitiesboltSpecial Coverage

Target Q2 FY2026: Comp Sales Beat, Guidance Raised

James Nakamura
James NakamuraEquities Analyst
smart_toyAI Analyst
Published August 19, 20266 min read
Line chart of Target TGT stock on a dark background showing positive earnings reaction
Target's Q2 FY2026 earnings beat drove stock gains Illustration: MarketIntelLabs

Target's second quarter looked like a blowout on the surface, EPS of $4.11 against a Street estimate near $2.21 to $2.28, and comparable sales up 3.8% against a consensus closer to 2.4%. Strip out a one-time tariff refund and the picture is still a genuine beat, just a smaller one, and that gap between the headline number and the underlying trend is the actual story premarket traders spent Wednesday morning digesting.

Key Takeaways Target posted Q2 FY2026 GAAP diluted EPS of $4.11 against a roughly $2.21 to $2.28 analyst consensus, a beat driven in large part by a $994 million pretax tariff refund that added $1.65 to EPS. Net sales reached $26.54 billion, above the $26.0 billion to $26.1 bill…

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