Target shares plunge 20% after third quarter earnings. Miss Expectations

Target Corp ( TGT , Financial ) shares surged 20% Wednesday after the company’s third-quarter earnings missed market expectations. This is expected to mark the biggest one-day decline since July 2009. The retailer earned $1.85 per share in the latest quarter on revenue of $25.7 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $2.30 per share and $25.9 billion.

CEO Brian Cornell blamed the gross on higher shipping costs due to rerouting as a result of a port strike and lower demand for non-essential products such as clothing and home goods. Total traffic was up 2.4%, while digital sales were up 10.8%, but total store sales were down 1.7%.

This deep selloff matches Target’s 25% drop in May 2022 due to its inability to entice the public even with deep discounts. Notably, shares of the retailer were up 9% year-to-date before Wednesday, well below the S&P 500’s 24.7% growth.

However, Walmart’s ( WMT , Financial ) stock rose 3%, suggesting retail giants aren’t seeing similar performances. CA’s sales concerns indicate that consumer spending remains somewhat discerning.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.