Target is set to report earnings before the bell tomorrow. Analysts are expecting Capital IQ EPS of 1.52 and Capital IQ Rev consensus of 20.72Bln.

• Target issued a disappointing holiday sales update in mid-January.  Investors will want to see if  sales pace has picked up since then and the efforts undertaken by Target to reverse the sales weakness.
• Walmart recently reported some relatively impressive sales results for its fiscal fourth quarter, demonstrating that it is holding its own in the face of increased competition from Amazon.com and other online competitors. Investors will be anxious to hear if Target's outlook creates a similar impression. However, it is important to note that WMT online sales are down year over year in comparison with AMZN's stellar growth.
• Expectations are relatively low ahead of Target's report, which puts the company in a good position to leapfrog such a low bar. 

What Target said in mid-January

• Expects adjusted Q4 earnings per share to be between $1.45 and $1.55 (prior guidance was $1.55 to $1.75)
• Q4 comparable sales are anticipated to decline 1.0% to 1.5% (prior guidance was a decline of 1.0% to an increase of 1.0%)
• Full-year 2016 adjusted earnings per share are forecast to be between $5.00 and $5.10 (prior guidance was $5.10 to $5.30) 

Affected Stocks:

Related ETFs

• Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SDPR (XLY)
• SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT)
   

General merchandise competitors

• Walmart (WMT)
• Amazon.com (AMZN)
• Best Buy (BBY)
   

Wholesale clubs

• Costco (COST)
   

Grocery retailers

• Kroger (KR)
• Whole Foods (WFM)
   

Drug stores

• Rite Aid (RAD)
• Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)
   

Specialty retailers

• Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY)
• Williams-Sonoma (WSM)
• Signet Jewelers (SIG)
   

Department stores

• Kohl's (KSS)
• J.C. Penney (JCP)
• Sears Holdings (SHLD)
   

Off-price retailers

• Dollar General (DG)
• Dollar Tree (DLTR)
• Five Below (FIVE)