Walmart and Target’s earnings focus on new CEOs Furner and Fiddelke

when Walmart and goal When holiday earnings are announced this quarter, investors may quickly ignore these results.

Instead, they will likely focus more on the futures of the two big retailers under new CEOs and the outlook for US consumers in 2026.

Both companies saw leadership changes this month: Walmart CEO John Furner and Target CEO Michael Fidelke, both longtime company insiders, assumed their roles on February 1.

Rival retailers faced the same economic challenges. Consumers in the United States are still spending, but they are buying selectively, as inflation and tariffs drive up the prices of groceries and other necessities and prompt some shoppers to think twice about discretionary purchases.

However, while both Walmart and Target have new CEOs, their paths forward look distinctly different.

Walmart stock has risen about 163% over the past five years, and is up about 24% over the past year, as of market close on Tuesday. It reached a 52-week high on Tuesday. On the other hand, Target shares have fallen about 40% over the past five years and are down 9% over the past year.

The performance of retailers in the stock market reflects the sharp variation in sales results. Walmart attracts shoppers via revenue and is gaining traction through online sales and high-margin businesses such as advertising. Target is experiencing sluggish sales and weak store traffic. Walmart expects its full-year net sales to rise between 4.8% and 5.1%. On the other hand, Target is on track to decline in full-year sales.

Walmart CEO John Furner inherited a company that is “fundamentally sound” and “on a great trajectory,” said Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData.

“In many ways, his job is to keep the ship steady and see what he can do to pick up speed,” he said.

Target CEO Michael Fidelek, on the other hand, has to “sell the Target of the future” after four years of nearly flat annual sales, Saunders said.

“What I think he’ll want to do is inject some excitement, to say, ‘Look, I’m really excited about this role. I’m really excited about where Target can go. We’re going to change things. We’re going to be a different business. We’re going to get back to how we were before,'” he said.

Here’s a closer look at what we know so far about the CEOs’ plans and what investors will hear during earnings:

Walmart will report its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings before the bell on Thursday.

The retail giant has had a busy few months: Along with the hiring of a new CEO, Walmart’s market cap topped $1 trillion in early February. The company also switched its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index in January, a sign of its goal to be viewed by investors like its main rival Amazon.

When longtime CEO Doug McMillon resigned from his position, he said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he was passing the torch to Forner as the company works to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence and reshape its business and the way its customers shop.

Walmart announced deals with two major AI chatbot platforms, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, to make it easier for shoppers to find and buy its products.

Forner, who like his predecessor rose through Walmart’s ranks during decades at the Arkansas-based company, oversaw the largest slice of the company in his previous role as CEO of Walmart US, said Kate McShane, a retail analyst at Goldman Sachs. Forner was chosen in part because of his success in expanding Walmart’s digital business, a pivotal part of its future, said Kate McShane, a retail analyst at Goldman Sachs.

Walmart in May reported its first profitable quarter for its U.S. and global e-commerce business, with growth in its home delivery, advertising and third-party marketplace businesses.

Walmart investors “want more of the same” — namely more e-commerce gains, grocery success and market share gains with a broader range of customers, including more affluent shoppers, said Corey Tarlow, a retail analyst at Jefferies.

However, Walmart’s results for the holiday quarter could mark an inflection point in the retail world. Amazon could take the crown as the largest retailer by annual revenue for the first time, even though the company makes much of its money from technology services such as cloud computing and advertising.

Saunders said the comparison is not apples to apples, but is “symbolically important” as the two rivals try to one-up each other. Walmart has grown in part by relying on stores to deliver groceries and offering delivery for online orders. Amazon, which recently announced it would close its Amazon Fresh and Go stores and convert some to Whole Foods locations, has tried to “tie” fresh foods to the current huge volume of online orders, he said.

As the nation’s largest grocery company by revenue, Walmart is also resisting the expansion of discounter Aldi, and could feel the heat drawn by the supermarket operator Krogerwhich recently appointed Greg Foran, a Walmart alumnus, as its new CEO.

In a memo sent to employees on his second day as CEO, Forner said his leadership will be shaped by his more than 32 years at Walmart, adding that he believes the company is “well-positioned to lead in this next era of retail.”

“The coming era will open new ways to realize our people-led, technology-enabled vision,” he said in the memo. “By leveraging our global scale, we can better serve customers and members with speed, reliability and greater experiences, wherever they choose to shop with us.”

He said the strategy is already coming to life as “technology and artificial intelligence help reduce friction in our business, simplify decisions, improve inventory flow, and free up time so you can focus on what matters most: serving customers, members and each other.”

For Fiddelke, Target’s earnings report could be the deepest look yet at the cheap-chic discount store’s roadmap to return to growth.

The company is seeking a comeback and plans to share its holiday quarter results and current fiscal year outlook on March 3 at a financial meeting at its headquarters in Minneapolis.

The big-box retailer has struggled with a long list of challenges, including declining visits to its stores and website, customer complaints about store conditions, and backlash to the company’s political and social stances, such as its backpedaling on diversity, equality and inclusion pledges and its decision not to publicly oppose increased immigration enforcement in its home state.

With sales declining, Target has reduced its workforce. It cut 1,800 jobs at the company last year in its first major layoffs in a decade.

Target’s earnings report is more expected than Walmart’s because there are a lot of questions about the turnaround strategy and how long it might take, Goldman Sachs’s McShane said. Investors discussed how much the company might need to invest in merchandising, marketing and warehousing labor to boost its sales.

“Walmart has pursued a more aggressive digital agenda than Target between its omnichannel, automation and marketplace,” she said.

She added that although Target doesn’t want to become Amazon or Walmart, “they have to figure out who they want to be and how they compete.”

Indeed, Wedelke has sent signals that he is making changes. Last week, he announced in an email to employees that the company would ramp up headcount at the store, though Fiddelke and the company declined to say how much it would invest in additional employee hours. It is also cutting about 500 jobs in distribution centers and regional offices.

Fiddelke shook up Target’s leadership team as of Sunday, bringing back the role of chief merchandiser and announcing a high-profile departure. Kara Sylvester, former CEO of Guest Experience, becomes Target’s chief commercial officer, and Lisa Roth, former CMO of food, essentials and beauty, succeeds Fidelke as chief operating officer.

Meanwhile, Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez will leave the company after more than a decade, and Jill Sandow, chief merchandising officer for Fun101’s apparel, accessories, and home, toy and entertainment division, will retire.

Target also opened a new store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. Although the location is unique, its focus on fashion may inspire more changes at stores across the country and in the suburbs, McShane said.

This push for stronger product differentiation is a key part of Fiddelke’s strategy. In an email to employees and customers during his first week, Fedelke outlined four priorities: sharpening Target’s marketing, improving the customer experience, accelerating the use of technology and strengthening the company’s workforce and surrounding communities.

Target’s upcoming investor event is “an opportunity for them to basically reach out to everyone and say ‘We hear what you want,'” Jeffries-Tarlow said. Here’s how we’ll achieve that.

“Change is happening, the question is, does the market see it and appreciate it?” he said.