2025 Outlooks: Best Buy, Target

These two high-profile retailers — which both happen to be based in Minneapolis — have released their 2024 full-year results, in which they also offered their outlooks for the coming year. Here’s what they’re saying:

Best Buy Co. Inc.: “As we enter FY26, we believe consumer behavior will be largely similar to last year – remaining resilient but still dealing with high inflation that is driving expenses up across their lives, making them value focused and thoughtful about big ticket purchases,” CFO Matt Bilunas said in the electronics retailer’s news release. “And, at the same time, we continue to see a consumer that is willing to spend on high-price-point products when they need to or when there is technology innovation. This leads to our comparable sales guide in the range of flat to 2% growth for the year, with growth weighted more to the second half of the year based on the timing of product launches and initiatives.”

Target Corp: In light of ongoing consumer uncertainty and a small decline in February net sales, combined with tariff uncertainty and the expected timing of certain costs within the fiscal year, the company “expects to see meaningful year-over-year profit pressure in its first quarter relative to the remainder of the year,” its financial statement said.

“During February, we saw record performance around Valentine’s Day. However, our topline performance for the month was soft, as uncharacteristically cold weather across the U.S. affected apparel sales, and declining consumer confidence impacted our discretionary assortment overall,” said CFO Jim Lee. “Looking ahead, we expect to see a moderation in this trend as apparel sales respond to warmer weather around the country, and consumers turn to Target for upcoming seasonal moments such as the Easter holiday. We will continue to monitor these trends and will remain appropriately cautious with our expectations for the year ahead.”