Noodles & Company increases projected closures, could shutter up to 21 locations in 2025
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US corporate bankruptcies hit highest level since Great Recession
The first three months of 2025 saw the highest number of companies filing for bankruptcy in the U.S. since 2010.
Straight Arrow News
Fast casual restaurant chain Noodles & Company is planning to close up to 21 of its restaurants this year, the company disclosed in its first quarter earnings report earlier this month.
The Broomfield, Colorado-based company said on May 7 it is planning to close 13 to 17 company-owned restaurants and four franchised locations. That's up from a prior projection of 12 to 15 company-owned closures, the chain said.
Noodles & Company said it planned to add two new company-owned locations in 2025.
According to the first quarter earnings report, Noodles & Company currently has 380 company-owned restaurants and 89 franchised locations. The company's location finder shows locations in 31 states.
Noodles & Company did not immediately respond to a USA TODAY request for more information regarding which locations it is planning to close.
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The company, founded in 1995, offers a menu "devoted to noodles," serving items such as mac & cheese, pad thai, and Japanese pan noodles, among others. The company last month introduced new variations of mac and cheese, including Buffalo Chicken Ranch Mac & Cheese and Pulled Pork BBQ Mac & Cheese, in addition to a new Green Goddess Cobb Salad and a Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Aegon reports first half year 2025 results
Schiphol, August 21, 2025 - Please click here to access all 1H 2025 results related documents. 1H 2025 Financial highlights Net profit of EUR 606 million compared with a net loss of EUR 65 million for the first half of 2024 Operating result of EUR 845 million, up 19% compared with the first half of 2024, reflecting business growth and improved experience variance in the United States Valuation equity – the sum of shareholders' equity and the contractual service margin (CSM) after estimated tax adjustment – per share of EUR 8.47; a reduction of 5% in the reporting period, as the contribution from net profit is offset by unfavorable currency movements and capital returns to shareholders 1H 2025 Capital highlights Operating capital generation (OCG) before holding funding and operating expenses of EUR 576 million, a decrease of 2% compared with the first half of 2024 reflecting unfavorable non-recurring items and more new business Free cash flow of EUR 442 million; up 18% compared with EUR 373 million for the first half of 2024 Capital ratios of Aegon's main units remain above their respective operating levels; Cash Capital at Holding remains above the operating range at EUR 2.0 billion Aegon announces increase in currently ongoing share buyback program by EUR 200 million, taking the total 2H 2025 share buyback to EUR 400 million 2025 interim dividend of EUR 0.19 per common share, an increase of EUR 0.03 compared with 2024 interim dividend On track to meet all 2025 financial targets Strategic developments Review announced on relocating Aegon's legal domicile and head office to the United States Lard Friese, Aegon CEO, commented: 'We generated strong commercial momentum across our key markets in the first half of 2025. In the United States, new life sales increased by 13% to USD 276 million, while World Financial Group (WFG) continued to expand its distribution network. Our UK Workplace business continued to perform well, generating GBP 2.1 billion in net deposits, while our Asset Management business also achieved positive net flows. Our International business saw overall sales growth, driven by Brazil, China, and Spain & Portugal. In the first two quarters, we booked EUR 576 million of Operating Capital Generation (OCG) and we remain on track to meet our OCG guidance of around EUR 1.2 billion for 2025. Our operating result was EUR 845 million, up 19% compared to last year. Our annual assumption updates in the United States led to some strengthening of assumptions to address adverse policyholder behavior experience witnessed over recent quarters. Our capital ratios remain robust, and our cash capital position stands above our operating range. We are therefore announcing an interim dividend of 19 euro cents, which represents a year-on-year increase of 19%, and that we are increasing our currently ongoing share buyback to EUR 400 million from the previously announced EUR 200 million. Today we are announcing an important step for our company, as we will begin a review on a potential relocation of Aegon's head office to the United States. In recent years, Aegon's business in the United States – which accounts for approximately 70% of Aegon's operations – has become Aegon's primary market and central to the company's strategy and long-term growth. A relocation of Aegon's legal domicile and head office to the United States is expected to simplify Aegon's corporate structure as it would align its legal domicile, tax residency, accounting standard and regulatory framework with the geography where it conducts the majority of its business. We aim to share the outcome of this review at our Capital Markets Day on December 10, 2025.' Additional information PresentationThe conference call presentation is available on as of 7.00 CEST. SupplementsAegon's first half 2025 Financial Supplement and other supplementary documents are available on Webcast and conference call including Q&AThe webcast and conference call starts at 9:00 am CET. The audio webcast can be followed on To join the conference call and/or participate in the Q&A, you will need to register via the following registration link. Directly after registration you will see your personal pin on the confirmation screen, and you will also receive an email with the call details and your personal pin to enter the conference call. The link becomes active 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. To avoid any unforeseen connection issues, it is recommended to make use of the 'Call me' option. Approximately two hours after the conference call, a replay will be available on Dial-in numbers for conference call:United States: +1 864 991 4103 (local) United Kingdom: +44 808 175 1536 (toll-free) The Netherlands: +31 800 745 8377 (toll-free); or +31 970 102 86838 (toll) Financial calendar 2025Third quarter 2025 trading update – November 13, 2025Capital Markets Day – December 10, 2025 About AegonAegon is an international financial services holding company. Aegon's ambition is to build leading businesses that offer their customers investment, protection, and retirement solutions. Aegon's portfolio of businesses includes fully owned businesses in the United States and United Kingdom, and a global asset manager. Aegon also creates value by combining its international expertise with strong local partners via insurance joint ventures in Spain & Portugal, China, and Brazil, and via asset management partnerships in France and China. In addition, Aegon owns a Bermuda-based life insurer and generates value via a strategic shareholding in a market leading Dutch insurance and pensions company. Aegon's purpose of helping people live their best lives runs through all its activities. As a leading global investor and employer, Aegon seeks to have a positive impact by addressing critical environmental and societal issues. Aegon is headquartered in Schiphol, the Netherlands, domiciled in Bermuda, and listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange. More information can be found at Contacts Media relations Investor relations Richard Mackillican Yves Cormier +31(0) 6 27411546 +44 782 337 1511 Local currenciesThis document contains certain information about Aegon's results, financial condition and revenue generating investments presented in USD for the Americas and in GBP for the United Kingdom, because those businesses operate and are managed primarily in those currencies. None of this information is a substitute for or superior to financial information about Aegon presented in EUR, which is the currency of Aegon's primary financial statements. Cautionary note regarding non-IFRS measuresThis document includes the following non-IFRS financial measures: operating result and valuation equity. Operating result is calculated by consolidating on a proportionate basis Aegon's joint ventures and associated companies, except for its associate a.s.r. Operating result reflects Aegon's profit before tax from underlying business operations and mainly excludes components that relate to accounting mismatches that are dependent on market volatility or relate to events that are considered outside the normal course of business. Valuation equity combines shareholders' equity and the embedded value of unearned profits in insurance contracts. This provides a more comprehensive view of the Group's economic value. Aegon believes that these non-IFRS measures, together with the IFRS information, provide meaningful supplemental information about the operating results of Aegon's business including insight into the financial measures that senior management uses in managing the business.. Forward-looking statementsThe statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that identify such forward-looking statements: aim, believe, estimate, target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting on, plan, continue, want, forecast, goal, should, would, could, is confident, will, and similar expressions as they relate to Aegon. These statements may contain information about financial prospects, economic conditions and trends and involve risks and uncertainties. In addition, any statements that refer to sustainability, environmental and social targets, commitments, goals, efforts and expectations and other events or circumstances that are partially dependent on future events are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Aegon undertakes no obligation, and expressly disclaims any duty, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which merely reflect company expectations at the time of writing. Actual results may differ materially and adversely from expectations conveyed in forward-looking statements due to changes caused by various risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the following: Changes in general economic and/or governmental conditions, particularly in Bermuda, the United States, the United Kingdom and in relation to Aegon's shareholding in ASR Nederland N.V. and asset management business, the Netherlands; Civil unrest, (geo-) political tensions, military action or other instability in countries or geographic regions that affect our operations or that affect global markets; Changes in the performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, such as with regard to: The frequency and severity of defaults by issuers in Aegon's fixed income investment portfolios; The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or accounting restatements on the financial markets and the resulting decline in the value of equity and debt securities Aegon holds; The effects of declining creditworthiness of certain public sector securities and the resulting decline in the value of government exposure that Aegon holds; The impact from volatility in credit, equity, and interest rates; Changes in the performance of Aegon's investment portfolio and decline in ratings of Aegon's counterparties; The effect of tariffs and potential trade wars on trading markets and on economic growth, globally and in the markets where Aegon operates. Lowering of one or more of Aegon's debt ratings issued by recognized rating organizations and the adverse impact such action may have on Aegon's ability to raise capital and on its liquidity and financial condition; Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings of Aegon's insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action may have on the written premium, policy retention, profitability and liquidity of its insurance subsidiaries; The effect of applicable Bermuda solvency requirements, the European Union's Solvency II requirements, and applicable equivalent solvency requirements and other regulations in other jurisdictions affecting the capital Aegon is required to maintain and our ability to pay dividends; Changes in the European Commissions' or European regulator's position on the equivalence of the supervisory regime for insurance and reinsurance undertakings in force in Bermuda; Changes affecting interest rate levels and low or rapidly changing interest rate levels; Changes affecting currency exchange rates, in particular the EUR/USD and EUR/GBP exchange rates; The effects of global inflation, or inflation in the markets where Aegon operates; Changes in the availability of, and costs associated with, liquidity sources such as bank and capital markets funding, as well as conditions in the credit markets in general such as changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness; Increasing levels of competition, particularly in the United States, the United Kingdom, emerging markets and in relation to Aegon's shareholding in ASR Nederland N.V. and asset management business, the Netherlands; Catastrophic events, either manmade or by nature, including by way of example acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and pandemics, could result in material losses and significantly interrupt Aegon's business; The frequency and severity of insured loss events; Changes affecting longevity, mortality, morbidity, persistence and other factors that may impact the profitability of Aegon's insurance products and management of derivatives; Aegon's projected results are highly sensitive to complex mathematical models of financial markets, mortality, longevity, and other dynamic systems subject to shocks and unpredictable volatility. Should assumptions to these models later prove incorrect, or should errors in those models escape the controls in place to detect them, future performance will vary from projected results; Reinsurers to whom Aegon has ceded significant underwriting risks may fail to meet their obligations; Changes in customer behavior and public opinion in general related to, among other things, the type of products Aegon sells, including legal, regulatory or commercial necessity to meet changing customer expectations; Customer responsiveness to both new products and distribution channels; Third-party information used by us may prove to be inaccurate and change over time as methodologies and data availability and quality continue to evolve impacting our results and disclosures; As Aegon's operations support complex transactions and are highly dependent on the proper functioning of information technology, operational risks such as system disruptions or failures, security or data privacy breaches, cyberattacks, human error, failure to safeguard personally identifiable information, changes in operational practices or inadequate controls including with respect to third parties with which Aegon does business, may disrupt Aegon's business, damage its reputation and adversely affect its results of operations, financial condition and cash flows; Aegon's failure to swiftly, effectively, and securely adapt and integrate emerging technologies; The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings, product withdrawals and other unusual items, including Aegon's ability to complete, or obtain regulatory approval for, acquisitions and divestitures, integrate acquisitions, and realize anticipated results from such transactions, and its ability to separate businesses as part of divestitures; in particular there is no certainty that Aegon's review on a potential relocation of the company's legal domicile and head office to the United States will result in a decision to pursue such a relocation and there is no guarantee that, if pursued, what the manner, timing, and potential impacts of a relocation would be and if such relocation can be completed successfully. Aegon's failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or operational efficiencies, as well as other management initiatives related to cost savings, Cash Capital at Holding, gross financial leverage and free cash flow; Changes in the policies of central banks and/or governments; Litigation or regulatory action that could require Aegon to pay significant damages or change the way Aegon does business; Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax changes that affect profitability, the distribution cost of or demand for Aegon's products; Consequences of an actual or potential break-up of the European Monetary Union in whole or in part, or further consequences of the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union and potential consequences if other European Union countries leave the European Union; Changes in laws and regulations, or the interpretation thereof by regulators and courts, including as a result of comprehensive reform or shifts away from multilateral approaches to regulation of global or national operations, particularly regarding those laws and regulations related to ESG matters, those affecting Aegon's operations' ability to hire and retain key personnel, taxation of Aegon companies, the products Aegon sells, the attractiveness of certain products to its consumers and Aegon's intellectual property; Regulatory changes relating to the pensions, investment, insurance industries and enforcing adjustments in the jurisdictions in which Aegon operates; Standard setting initiatives of supranational standard setting bodies such as the Financial Stability Board and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors or changes to such standards that may have an impact on regional (such as EU), national (such as Bermuda) or US federal or state level financial regulation or the application thereof to Aegon; Changes in accounting regulations and policies or a change by Aegon in applying such regulations and policies, voluntarily or otherwise, which may affect Aegon's reported results, shareholders' equity or regulatory capital adequacy levels; The rapidly changing landscape for ESG responsibilities, leading to potential challenges by private parties and governmental authorities, and/or changes in ESG standards and requirements, including assumptions, methodology and materiality, or a change by Aegon in applying such standards and requirements, voluntarily or otherwise, may affect Aegon's ability to meet evolving standards and requirements, or Aegon's ability to meet its sustainability and ESG-related goals, or related public expectations, which may also negatively affect Aegon's reputation or the reputation of its board of directors or its management; Unexpected delays, difficulties, and expenses in executing against Aegon's environmental, climate, or other ESG targets, goals and commitments, and changes in laws or regulations affecting us, such as changes in data privacy, environmental, health and safety laws; and Reliance on third-party information in certain of Aegon's disclosures, which may change over time as methodologies and data availability and quality continue to evolve. These factors, as well as any inaccuracies in third-party information used by Aegon, including in estimates or assumptions, may cause results to differ materially and adversely from statements, estimates, and beliefs made by Aegon or third-parties. Moreover, Aegon's disclosures based on any standards may change due to revisions in framework requirements, availability of information, changes in its business or applicable governmental policies, or other factors, some of which may be beyond Aegon's control. Additionally, Aegon's discussion of various ESG and other sustainability issues in this document or in other locations, including on our corporate website, may be informed by the interests of various stakeholders, as well as various ESG standards, frameworks, and regulations (including for the measurement and assessment of underlying data). As such, our disclosures on such issues, including climate-related disclosures, may include information that is not necessarily "material" under US securities laws for SEC reporting purposes, even if we use words such as "material" or "materiality" in relation to those statements. ESG expectations continue to evolve, often quickly, including for matters outside of our control; our disclosures are inherently dependent on the methodology (including any related assumptions or estimates) and data used, and there can be no guarantee that such disclosures will necessarily reflect or be consistent with the preferred practices or interpretations of particular stakeholders, either currently or in future. This document contains information that qualifies, or may qualify, as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014). Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting Aegon are described in its filings with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the 2024 Integrated Annual Report. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, Aegon expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Aegon's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. WORLD FINANCIAL GROUP (WFG):WFG CONSISTS OF:IN THE UNITED STATES, WORLD FINANCIAL GROUP INSURANCE AGENCY, LLC (IN CALIFORNIA, DOING BUSINESS AS WORLD FINANCIAL INSURANCE AGENCY, LLC), WORLD FINANCIAL GROUP INSURANCE AGENCY OF HAWAII, INC., WORLD FINANCIAL GROUP INSURANCE AGENCY OF MASSACHUSETTS, INC., AND / OR WFG INSURANCE AGENCY OF PUERTO RICO, INC. (COLLECTIVELY WFGIA), WHICH OFFER INSURANCE AND ANNUITY PRODUCTS. IN THE UNITED STATES, TRANSAMERICA FINANCIAL ADVISORS, INC. IS A FULL-SERVICE, FULLY LICENSED, INDEPENDENT BROKER-DEALER AND REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISOR. TRANSAMERICA FINANCIAL ADVISORS, INC. (TFA), MEMBER FINRA, MSRB, SIPC, AND REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISOR, OFFERS SECURITIES AND INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES. IN CANADA, WORLD FINANCIAL GROUP INSURANCE AGENCY OF CANADA INC. (WFGIAC), WHICH OFFERS LIFE INSURANCE AND SEGREGATED FUNDS. WFG SECURITIES INC. (WFGS), WHICH OFFERS MUTUAL FUNDS. WFGIAC AND WFGS ARE AFFILIATED COMPANIES. Attachment 20250821_PR_Aegon reports first half year 2025 results
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Prosecutors link LA contract to Smartmatic 'slush fund' as voting tech firm battles Fox in court
MIAMI (AP) — Smartmatic, the elections-technology company suing Fox News for defamation, is now contending with a growing list of criminal allegations against some of its executives — including a new claim by federal prosecutors that a 'slush fund' for bribing foreign officials was financed partly with proceeds from the sale of voting machines in Los Angeles. The new details about the criminal case surfaced this month in court filings in Miami, where the company's co-founder, Roger Pinate, and two Venezuelan colleagues were charged last year with bribing officials in the Philippines in exchange for a contract to help run that country's 2016 presidential elections. Pinate, who no longer works for Smartmatic, has pleaded not guilty. To buttress the case, federal prosecutors are seeking to introduce evidence they argue shows that some of the nearly $300 million the company was paid by Los Angeles County to help modernize its voting systems was diverted to a fund controlled by Pinate through the use of overseas shell companies, fake invoices and other means. Smartmatic itself hasn't been charged with breaking any laws, nor have U.S. prosecutors accused Smartmatic or its executives of tampering with election results. Similarly, they haven't accused Los Angeles County officials of wrongdoing, or said whether they were even aware of the alleged bribery scheme. County officials say they weren't. But the case against Pinate is unfolding as Smartmatic is pursuing a $2.7 billion lawsuit accusing Fox of defamation for airing false claims that the company helped rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Fox says it was legitimately reporting newsworthy allegations. Smartmatic said the Justice Department's new filing was filled with 'misrepresentations' and is 'untethered from reality.' 'Let us be clear: Smartmatic wins business because we're the best at what we do,' the company said in a statement. 'We operate ethically and abide by all laws always, both in Los Angeles County and every jurisdiction where we operate.' Still, Fox has gone to court to try to get more information about L.A. County's dealings with Smartmatic. The network has long tried to leverage the bribery allegations to undermine Smartmatic's narrative about its business prospects – a key component in calculating any potential damages — and portray it as a scandal-plagued company brought low by its own legal problems, not Fox's broadcasts. South Florida-based Smartmatic was founded more than two decades ago by a group of Venezuelans who found early success working for the government of the late Hugo Chavez, a devotee of electronic voting. The company later expanded globally, providing voting machines and other technology to help carry out elections in 25 countries, from Argentina to Zambia. It was awarded its contract to help with Los Angeles County elections in 2018. The contract, which Smartmatic continues to service, gave the company an important foothold in what was then a fast-expanding U.S. voting-technology market. But Smartmatic has said its business tanked after Fox News gave President Donald Trump's lawyers a platform to paint the company as part of a conspiracy to steal the 2020 election. Fox itself eventually aired a piece refuting the allegations after Smartmatic's lawyers complained, but it has aggressively defended itself against the defamation lawsuit in New York. 'Facing imminent financial collapse and indictment, Smartmatic saw a litigation lottery ticket in Fox News's coverage of the 2020 election,' the network's lawyers said in a court filing. Smartmatic has disputed Fox's characterization in court filings as 'lies' and 'another attempt to divert attention from its long-standing campaign of falsehoods and defamation." LA clerk deposed about trip, gifted meal As part of its effort to investigate Smartmatic's work in Los Angeles, Fox has sued to force LA County Clerk Dean Logan to hand over public records about his dealings with Smartmatic's U.S. affiliate. Fox's lawyers also questioned Logan in a deposition about a dinner a Smartmatic executive bought for him at the members-only Magic Castle club and restaurant in Los Angeles and a Smartmatic-paid trip that Logan made to Taiwan in 2019 to oversee the manufacturing of equipment by a Smartmatic vendor. U.S. prosecutors claim that vendor was deeply involved in the alleged kickback scheme in the Philippines. The five-day trip included business class airfare, hotel and numerous meals as well as time for sightseeing, Fox said. 'The trip's itinerary demonstrates that the trip was not a financial inspection or audit. It was a boondoggle,' Fox said in court filings. Logan, who did not report the gifts in his financial disclosures, said in his 2023 deposition that the meal at the Magic Castle was a 'social occasion' unrelated to business and that he was not required to report the trip to Taiwan because his visit was covered by the contract. Mike Sanchez, a spokesman for Logan's office, said in a statement that the bribery allegations are unrelated to the company's work for L.A. County and that the county had no knowledge of how the proceeds from its contract would be used. All of Smartmatic's work has been evaluated for compliance with the contract's terms, Sanchez added, and as soon as Pinate was indicted he and the other defendants were banned from conducting business with the county. As for the trip to Taiwan, Sanchez said another county official joined Logan for the trip and the two conducted several on-site visits and conducted detailed reviews of electoral technology products that were required prior the start of their manufacturing. Logan's spouse accompanied him on the trip, but at the couple's own expense, the spokesman added. 'Unfortunately, this is an attempt to use the County as a pawn in two serious legal actions to which the County is not a party,' Sanchez said. Smartmatic has settled two other defamation lawsuits it brought against conservative news outlets Newsmax and One America News Network over their 2020 U.S. election coverage. Settlement terms weren't disclosed. Prosecutors claim bribe paid in Venezuela U.S. prosecutors in Miami have also accused Pinate of secretly bribing Venezuela's longtime election chief by giving her a luxury home with a pool in Caracas. Prosecutors say the home was transferred to the election chief in an attempt to repair relations following Smartmatic's abrupt exit from Venezuela in 2017 when it accused President Nicolas Maduro 's government of manipulating tallied results in elections for a rubber-stamping constituent assembly. Smartmatic has denied the bribery allegations, saying it ceased all operations in Venezuela in 2017 after blowing the whistle on the government and has never sought to secure business there again. "There are no slush funds, no gifted house," the company said. Instead, it accused Fox of engaging in 'victim-blaming' and attempts to use 'frivolous' court filings 'to smear us further, twisting unproven Justice Department allegations.'
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Target's sales continue to slide, and so does its stock
Target reported another drop in quarterly sales and a steep decline in profits Wednesday, signaling continued challenges for the Minneapolis-based retailer. As the financial results were released in the morning, the company's shares took a quick 10% dive before the markets opened. Shares recovered modestly during the day and closed Wednesday at $98.69, down 6.3%. The financial results were released along with news that CEO Brian Cornell would cede his role to his second-in-command Michael Fiddelke in February. Target has had inconsistent results for the past three years and some missteps. Its stock has fallen more than 30% over the past year. Executives pointed out that sales results in all six of its categories were better than the quarter before. But total sales still fell 1.9%, even with a boost from online orders. Same-store sales fell more than 3%. "To be crystal clear, you're not going to hear me use language that sounds satisfied any time we're talking about a quarter with a negative [comparable sales], but we were pleased to see progress across all of our categories," Fiddelke, Target's chief operating officer, said on a media call. The 4.3% increase in digital sales were largely driven by same-day delivery and continued use of drive-up pickups. Still, the business performed better than expected, said Rupesh Parikh, managing director of Oppenheimer. Results beat Wall Street expectations. Some analysts are frustrated by the decision to name an internal candidate, which some suggest might pose issues for Fiddelke when addressing thorny issues facing the retailer. There might also be some additional disappointment about Target not raising the lower end of its guidance as well, Parikh added. He sees Fiddelke's tenure as a "big advantage" from a "continuity perspective," adding that his more than two decades with the retailer allow him to know the culture better than an external candidate. Yet other analysts said Target has a long way to go to prove itself to Wall Street - and consumers. "There is no external reason why Target should be experiencing this kind of weakness on the top line," wrote Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Research, in an analyst note. "This decline is entirely self-inflicted. Target, which used to be very attuned to consumer demand, has lost its grip on delivering for the American shopper." According to Target saw 14% frequent visitor share - shoppers who visit at least four times per month - in the second quarter. It's a modest increase from the previous year. Walmart, on the other hand, experienced 34% frequent visitor share, highlighting Target's role as a retailer driven largely by discovery. "While strengthening essentials plays to the current economic climate and likely contributed to the modest increase in Target's frequent visitors over the past year, the retailer's future success depends on sharpening its core strengths," the report read. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
