MMarketMath

TGT

Slow growerQuality: Medium (55/100)1 red flag

Target Corporation · Consumer Staples · Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail

$169.89

52w 83.44 – 170.75

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$77.2B

P/E

20.3

P/FCF

26.5

FCF yield

3.8%

ROE

22.9%

Shldr yield

3.3%

div 2.7% + bb 0.5%

What today's price assumes

At $77.2B, the market is pricing in 11.5% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew -4.6% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.

Simple DCF per-share range: $52 · $52 · $64 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 6.1× across 19 years, TGT would trade near $88/share (25th–75th percentile: $68–$109); it trades at 11.8× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

−1.3%

Rev 5y

+2.3%

Rev 10y

+3.6%

EPS 5y

−1.2%

EPS 10y

+4.4%

FCF 5y

−18.5%

FCF 10y

−4.6%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2008–2026, from SEC filings

Revenue

2008: $63.4B
2009: $64.9B
2010: $65.4B
2011: $67.4B
2012: $69.9B
2013: $73.3B
2014: $71.3B
2015: $72.6B
2016: $73.8B
2017: $70.3B
2018: $72.7B
2019: $75.4B
2020: $78.1B
2021: $93.6B
2022: $106.0B
2023: $109.1B
2024: $107.4B
2025: $106.6B
2026: $104.8B
$0$50.0B$100.0B
08
12
16
20
24

Net income

2008: $2.8B
2009: $2.2B
2010: $2.5B
2011: $2.9B
2012: $2.9B
2013: $3.0B
2014: $2.0B
2015: −$1.6B
2016: $3.4B
2017: $2.7B
2018: $2.9B
2019: $2.9B
2020: $3.3B
2021: $4.4B
2022: $6.9B
2023: $2.8B
2024: $4.1B
2025: $4.1B
2026: $3.7B
$0$2.5B$5.0B
08
12
16
20
24

Free cash flow

2008: −$244.0M
2009: $883.0M
2010: $4.2B
2011: $3.1B
2012: $1.1B
2013: $3.0B
2014: $4.6B
2015: $2.7B
2016: $4.5B
2017: $3.9B
2018: $4.4B
2019: $2.5B
2020: $4.1B
2021: $7.9B
2022: $5.1B
2023: −$1.5B
2024: $3.8B
2025: $4.5B
2026: $2.8B
$0$2.5B$5.0B$7.5B
08
12
16
20
24

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2008: 850.8M
2009: 773.6M
2010: 754.8M
2011: 729.4M
2012: 683.9M
2013: 663.3M
2014: 641.8M
2015: 640.1M
2016: 632.9M
2017: 582.5M
2018: 550.3M
2019: 533.2M
2020: 515.6M
2021: 505.4M
2022: 492.7M
2023: 464.7M
2024: 462.8M
2025: 461.8M
2026: 455.6M
0250.0M500.0M750.0M
08
12
16
20
24

Margins

0%10%20%30%08111417202326
Net marginFCF marginGross margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2008: $2.9B
2009: $3.3B
2010: $919.0M
2011: $3.1B
2012: $2.6B
2013: $2.7B
2014: $2.5B
2015: $1.2B
2016: $4.8B
2017: $5.1B
2018: $2.4B
2019: $3.5B
2020: $2.9B
2021: $2.1B
2022: $8.7B
2023: $4.5B
2024: $2.0B
2025: $3.1B
2026: $2.5B
$0$2.5B$5.0B$7.5B
08
12
16
20
24

Cash vs long-term debt

$5.0B$10.0B$15.0B08111417202326
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q1'24: $25.3B
Q2'24: $24.8B
Q3'24: $25.4B
Q1'25: $24.5B
Q2'25: $25.5B
Q3'25: $25.7B
Q1'26: $23.8B
Q2'26: $25.2B
Q3'26: $25.3B
Q1'27: $25.4B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
24
24
25
26
27

Net income by quarter

Q1'24: $950.0M
Q2'24: $835.0M
Q3'24: $971.0M
Q4'24: $1.4B
Q1'25: $942.0M
Q2'25: $1.2B
Q3'25: $854.0M
Q4'25: $1.1B
Q1'26: $1.0B
Q2'26: $935.0M
Q3'26: $689.0M
Q4'26: $1.0B
Q1'27: $781.0M
$0$500.0M$1.0B
24
24
25
26
27
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q1'27$25.4B+6.7%$781.0M−24.6%1.71$716.0M
Q4'26$1.0B−5.2%$3.1B
Q3'26$25.3B−1.6%$689.0M−19.3%1.51$1.1B
Q2'26$25.2B−0.9%$935.0M−21.6%2.05$2.1B
Q1'26$23.8B−2.8%$1.0B+10.0%2.27$275.0M
Q4'25$1.1B−20.2%$3.3B
Q3'25$25.7B+1.1%$854.0M−12.0%1.85$739.0M
Q2'25$25.5B+2.7%$1.2B+42.8%2.57$2.2B
Q1'25$24.5B−3.1%$942.0M−0.8%2.03$1.1B
Q4'24$1.4B+57.8%$3.3B
Q3'24$25.4B−4.2%$971.0M+36.4%2.10$1.9B
Q2'24$24.8B−4.9%$835.0M+356.3%1.80$2.1B
Q1'24$25.3B+0.6%$950.0M−5.8%2.05$1.3B

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue−1.3%+2.3%+3.6%+3.0%
Operating cash flow+17.8%−9.0%+1.0%+1.5%
Free cash flow−13.6%−18.5%−4.6%−0.7%
EPS (diluted)+10.8%−1.2%+4.4%+4.8%
Equity+12.9%+2.3%+2.2%+0.3%
LT debt+0.6%+6.2%+2.0%−0.5%
Diluted shares−0.7%−2.1%−3.2%−3.1%
Stock price+14.1%−4.4%+12.5%+11.4%

$100, 3 years ago

$149vs $176 in SPY

14.1% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$80vs $181 in SPY

-4.4% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$324vs $412 in SPY

12.5% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$505vs $813 in SPY

11.4% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 5 years

$-2.31

−$28.1B created / $12.2B retained

Last 10 years

$0.69

$14.9B created / $21.7B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

21.5%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

7.8%

MC vs 10× OCF

1.15

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

5.1y

SBC / FCF

9.9%

Owner earnings

$2.6B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

3.4%

Share count 5y

−3.4%

per year; negative = buybacks

Capital intensity

net PP&E ÷ revenue

Sales efficiency

$0.19

new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y

Growth engine (5y): reinvested 24.2% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of -46.6% — an organically fundable growth rate of about -11.3% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).

Checklist

15 of 26 checks pass · 58%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

2/7

  • Revenue growth

    2.3% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • EPS growth

    -1.2% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • FCF growth

    -18.5% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Revenue rises consistently

    6 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    fail
  • FCF consistently positive

    9 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    pass
  • Profitable every year

    10 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    -9.0% vs 2.3% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    fail

Profitability

3/6

  • Net margin

    3.5% · ≥ 8%

    fail
  • Operating margin

    4.9% · ≥ 10%

    fail
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    22.9% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • Cash ROIC

    21.5% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • FCF margin

    2.7% · ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $6.6B vs NI $3.7B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

3/5

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    5.1y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    fail
  • Cash cushion

    38% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    0.89 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    pass
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $16.2B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    9% · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    pass

Capital Allocation

4/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    -3.4% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    pass
  • Stock comp restrained

    10% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    pass
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    87% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    pass
  • Repurchases are a habit

    9 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    pass

Valuation Discipline

3/4

  • FCF yield

    3.8% · ≥ 3%

    pass
  • Earnings multiple

    20.3 · P/E ≤ 25

    pass
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    11.5% vs -4.6% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    fail
  • Shareholder yield

    3.3% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    pass

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Heavy debt load

Long-term debt exceeds 5 years of free cash flow.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
2026104,7805,1173,7058.136,5623,7272,8352,0534082815,48814,39816,165456
2025106,5665,5664,0918.867,3672,8914,4762,0461,0073044,76213,90414,666462
2024107,4125,7074,1388.948,6214,8063,8152,01102513,80514,15113,432463
2023109,1203,8482,7805.984,0185,528-1,5101,8362,6462202,22914,14111,232465
2022106,0058,9466,94614.108,6253,5445,0811,5487,1882285,91111,56812,827493
202193,5616,5394,3688.6410,5252,6497,8761,3437452008,51110,64314,440505
202078,1124,6583,2816.367,1173,0274,0901,3301,5651472,5779,99211,833516
201975,3564,1102,9375.515,9733,5162,4571,3352,1241321,55610,24711,297533
201872,71420,7544,2242,9145.296,9352,5334,4021,3381,0461122,64310,44011,651550
201770,27120,3504,8642,7344.695,4441,5473,8971,3483,7061132,51211,71510,915583
201673,78521,5443,3635.315,9581,4384,5201,3623,48311511,85912,965633
201572,61821,340-1,636-2.564,4651,7862,6791,205267111,94613,997640
201471,27921,2401,9713.076,5201,8864,6341,0061,46110611,67816,231642
201373,3015,2062,9994.525,3252,3462,9798691,87510214,65416,558663
201269,8655,2502,9294.285,4344,3681,0667501,8429013,69715,821684
201167,3905,1692,9204.005,2712,1293,1426092,45210915,60715,487729
201065,3574,5762,4883.305,8811,7294,15249642310315,347755
200964,9482,2142.864,4303,5478834652,8157213,712774
200863,3672,8493.334,1254,369-2444422,4777315,307851

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.