Target Q2 earnings preview

Where is Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) going tomorrow when it releases Q2 numbers at 9:30 am CST? The company has done very well with recent monthly same-store sales numbers and continues to steal the spotlight from larger rival Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT). Six years ago, it looked like nothing could cast a cloud over Wal-Mart. Every month now that seems to happen, although Wal-Mart is still by far the largest retailer operating today.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) will lay it on the line tomorrow and the conference will be carried here in a liveblog at BloggingStocks, so don't forget to check back tomorrow morning for minute-by-minute coverage. The second-largest discount retailer in the U.S. is expected to report an earnings per share figure of about $0.80 with a quarterly revenue figure of $14.7 billion. Target's in-house credit card business is usually a highlight in its numbers, so we'll see if that continued in this last quarter as credit crunches happened in the housing market and gas prices were up (though not wildly fluctuating).

Also in the quarter just ended there should be some effect from the second-largest shopping season for many retailers -- back to school. Did Target see a lift from sales in late July due to this? Did parents wait until mid-August to line up those pencils and folders? This is sure to be discussed as well as how Target is managing to poke holes in Wal-Mart's huge balloon every quarter. In terms of overall shopping experience, Target has a long lead over almost any Wal-Mart Supercenter or regular store, from what I have seen recently. Let's see if that translated into another great quarter tomorrow morning.