Last week, Target (NYSE: TGT) stock tanked on a dismal earnings report.
And rightfully so.
I mean, look at these numbers…
- Net sales fell 2.8%.
- Same-store sales plunged 3.8%.
- And EPS crashed by 35.9% ($1.30 compared with analyst estimates of $1.65)
The company also had to lower its full-year forecast. It now foresees a low-single-digit decline in net sales, whereas the previous expectation was for a 1% improvement.
Its stock tumbled 7% as a result, piling onto a 38% decline over the past six months.
Target’s CEO pointed to a litany of headwinds that did less than soothe investor concerns.
Those included five consecutive months of waning consumer confidence and the negative impact of tariffs.
Neither of those things surprised me, because I’ve been talking about both of them for months.
However, a third did stand out…
A liberal boycott over Target’s DEI policies — or rather, their absence.
Shortly after Donald Trump reassumed the presidency in January, Target scrambled to realign its policies in light of the election. The company eliminated hiring goals for minority employees and an executive committee that was focused on racial justice, along with other diversity initiatives.
In response, Rev. Jamal Bryant — a megachurch pastor from the Atlanta area — and others instigated a boycott that, to my knowledge, is still ongoing.
To me, this is somewhat ironic.
After all, just two years ago, it was conservatives boycotting Target along with Bud Light.
You no doubt recall the massive backlash against Bud Light after it tapped a transgender influencer for a promotional campaign.
It crescendoed with the darkly comedic and surreal manifestation of Kid Rock shooting up beer cans in his backyard.
Well, around the same time, Target’s LGBTQ pride merchandise drew the ire of angry conservatives who crashed its stores to trash displays, berate employees, and post threatening videos on social media.
So it’s kind of jarring to see the pendulum suddenly swing back the other way.
Now, obviously, I think part of the problem here is that Target tried to play both sides.
Like a windsock reading social sentiment, Target embraced inclusivity in the Biden era and then flip-flopped in response to conservative outrage and November’s election
In doing so, it infuriated liberals.
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In that sense, this is a case study in why brands should refrain from advocacy and simply focus on business. And it serves Target right for trying to pander one way or the other.
At the same time, though, I also think it’s a little more complicated than that.
After all, I can’t really blame a company like Target or Anheuser Busch for trying to reach out to different groups of potential buyers.
In fact, the fractal nature of modern media pretty much demands it.
Long gone are the days when Americans got their information from the same consolidated group of sources. We’re all spending more and more time in our respective bubbles, as opposed to one big public square.
The very concept of “mass appeal” seems outdated. Instead, brands — even large retailers and beer barons — have to meet consumers in their respective habitats.
A massive retailer like Target can’t just be everything to everyone anymore.
The problem, then, is the backlash.
It’s the reactionary boycotts that now ensue every time a high-profile company changes gears to try and accommodate social trends that never stop shifting.
I can sympathize with that because I’ve felt similar displacement under my own feet.
I’ve been mocked by conservatives for being too "woke” and I’ve been scolded by liberals for being too insensitive.
I’m routinely dismissed pejoratively as a “cisgender white male,” which apparently is the worst thing someone can be… unless I’m being trashed as a “beta-cuck,” which apparently is also the worst thing a person can be.
I don’t even know where I fit in anymore — and it doesn’t look like Target does either.
All I know is that I’m wrong no matter what.
I’m losing value simply by virtue of existing.
Everyone is, regardless of what side you’re on.
In that sense, we’re all Targets.
Fight on,
Jason Simpkins
Simpkins is the founder and editor of Secret Stock Files, an investment service that focuses on companies with assets — tangible resources and products that can hold and appreciate in value. He covers mining companies, energy companies, defense contractors, dividend payers, commodities, staples, legacies and more…
In 2023 he joined The Wealth Advisory team as a defense market analyst where he reviews and recommends new military and government opportunities that come across his radar, especially those that spin-off healthy, growing income streams. For more on Jason, check out his editor’s page.
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