Target (TGT) News Today, Nov. 23, 2025: Black Friday Week Launch, CEO Shake-Up and Big-Money Investors Repositioning

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) kicks off its week-long Black Friday 2025 sale today as incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke readies a $1 billion store overhaul, institutional investors reshuffle their stakes, and the stock claws back from a fresh 52‑week low.

Key Takeaways for November 23, 2025

Black Friday Week officially starts today (Nov. 23–29) at Target with up to 50% off top categories, exclusive in-store giveaways and early-access perks for Target Circle 360 members. ^[1]
Incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke’s turnaround plan calls for roughly $1 billion in additional capital spending to remodel stores and refresh merchandising after a sharp profit drop and continued traffic declines. ^[2]
Third-quarter results showed net sales down 1.5% and comparable sales down 2.7%, but adjusted EPS of $1.78 beat Wall Street expectations; full‑year adjusted EPS guidance now sits at $7.00–$8.00. ^[3]
Big institutional investors are actively repositioning: Franklin Resources trimmed its stake, Mediolanum International Funds and smaller firms added, and Wealthspire Advisors cut back—all disclosed in filings highlighted today. ^[4]
TGT stock is trading around the high‑$80s, after hitting a new 52‑week low of $85.35 earlier this week; Wall Street’s average 12‑month price target still sits near $100–$103 with a broad Hold” consensus. ^[5]

Black Friday Week 2025: Target’s Biggest Event of the Year Is Now Live

Target’s week‑long Black Friday experience officially started today, Sunday, November 23, and runs through Saturday, November 29, 2025. The retailer is leaning hard into deals and in‑store experiences” as it tries to re‑energize shoppers in what has been a very tough year for the brand. ^[6]

According to Target’s own Black Friday press release and ad hub:

Savings up to 50% on key gifting categories like tech, toys, small appliances and floor care. ^[7]
Category highlights include:
- Tech & gaming: deals on brands like Nintendo, Samsung, Bose and more, plus savings on PlayStation 5 consoles and select Apple products. ^[8]
- Toys: up to 50% off big names such as Barbie, Spider‑Man, Bluey, Disney, Pokémon, Fisher‑Price and board games. ^[9]
- Home & lifestyle: deep discounts across kitchen appliances, floor care, décor, sleepwear, shoes and beauty sets, especially during the Nov. 27–29 extra deals” window. ^[10]

The first 100 shoppers on Black Friday morning (Nov. 28) at each Target store get a limited‑edition iridescent holiday tote stuffed with giveaways; 10 guests at every store will find surprise prizes worth $99–$350, such as a Target Circle 360 membership or premium electronics. ^[11]

Online deal‑tracking site 9to5Toys confirms that Target Black Friday Week” is now live, highlighting that the official ad preview from earlier this week has rolled into active prices across Target.com and stores today. ^[12]

Day 23 Deals: iPad Discounts and Gift Card Promos

Beyond the broad corporate messaging, daily deal coverage gives a more granular view of what shoppers actually see today:

9to5Toys’ Target Black Friday Deals of the Day – Day 23” calls out promotions like Apple’s iPad 10 down near $230, aggressive markdowns on beauty from around $1, and a free $5 gift card on select baskets. ^[13]

Taken together, today’s news confirms that Target has turned Black Friday into a week‑long, omni‑channel blitz, blending doorbuster‑style deals with exclusive merch drops, loyalty perks and in‑store theatrics.

Exclusive Fandom Drops and Holiday Collectibles Landing Today

Alongside the core Black Friday price cuts, Target is leaning into fandom commerce”—limited, buzz‑worthy items intended to drive excitement online and in stores.

From Target’s holiday collectibles feature and press hub: ^[14]

A Mario Kart‑inspired racing jacket created with Nintendo is exclusive to Target and priced at $69.99, available starting today, Nov. 23, in all Target stores.
Additional fandom‑themed gifts—ranging from trading cards and vinyl collectibles to curated pop‑culture bundles—are part of the retailer’s strategy to create only at Target” reasons to visit during the holiday rush.

These drops are designed to complement the Black Friday offers by giving Target something more unique than just a cheaper TV, especially as it battles Amazon, Walmart, Costco and fast‑fashion platforms for attention. ^[15]

Target’s Next Chapter: Fiddelke’s $1 Billion Store Overhaul

The most consequential corporate news dated today comes from the Minnesota Star Tribune, which reports that incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke is orchestrating the largest store overhaul Target has attempted in roughly a decade. ^[16]

Key points from that report:

Fiddelke, currently chief operating officer and incoming CEO, is allocating about $1 billion in additional capital on top of existing plans to:
- Remodel and reorganize stores
- Refresh merchandise assortments
- Upgrade technology and fulfillment infrastructure ^[17]
The plan is an explicit acknowledgment that Target has lost its edge” in store appearance and value perception, especially versus Walmart and Costco, both of which have been gaining share. ^[18]
Target’s traffic and average basket size both fell in the latest quarter, while competitors report rising visits and stronger sales trends. ^[19]

The piece also notes:

Target has cut roughly 8% of its corporate staff, or about 1,000 positions, in its first major headquarters workforce reduction in a decade—moves tied directly to Fiddelke’s strategy. ^[20]
Analysts quoted in the article worry the plan may not be bold enough, pointing to lingering issues in inventory management, store condition and price gaps versus rivals. ^[21]
Leadership is betting on a design‑led” recovery, emphasizing better merchandising, refreshed store layouts and more engaging in‑store experiences over simply racing Walmart to the lowest price. ^[22]

For investors, today’s coverage cements Fiddelke as a change‑agent CEO—but one with something to prove. The turnaround hinges on whether redesigned stores and trendier assortments can arrest Target’s sales declines fast enough to satisfy Wall Street.

Earnings Check: Q3 2025 Recap and Guidance

Much of the commentary surfacing today builds on Target’s third‑quarter earnings, released on November 19 and still driving the stock narrative.

From Target’s official press release and follow‑up investor commentary: ^[23]

Net sales:
- Q3 2025 net sales were $25.3 billion, down 1.5% from 2024.
Comparable sales:
- Overall comps fell 2.7%, with store comps down 3.8% and digital comps up 2.4%.
Profitability:
- GAAP EPS came in at $1.51, down from $1.85 a year earlier.
- Adjusted EPS was $1.78, beating many analyst estimates and roughly in line with internal expectations.
- Operating income fell nearly 19%, and operating margin slipped from 4.6% to 3.8% (4.4% on an adjusted basis).
Guidance:
- Q4 2025: management expects a low‑single‑digit decline in sales.
- Full‑year GAAP EPS: $7.70–$8.70; adjusted EPS: $7.00–$8.00.

Zacks and other analyst outlets note that Target has underperformed the broader market badly this year, with the stock down more than 30% year to date versus a double‑digit gain for the S&P 500. ^[24]

On the bright side, the company continues to lean on:

Digital strength: Same‑day and membership‑driven services like Target Circle 360 saw growth above 35%, with marketplace and advertising unit Roundel also delivering double‑digit gains. ^[25]
Category momentum: Toys and beverages were stand‑out performers, with toys growing nearly 10% and beverages up 7%. ^[26]

AI, ChatGPT and the Push to Win Back Shoppers

Another strand of the Target story surfacing in recent coverage is the retailer’s expanding use of AI and its new partnership with OpenAI/ChatGPT.

From Target’s own Q3 feature and regional outlets amplifying the news: ^[27]

Target has rolled out AI‑enabled tools like Target Trend Brain” to predict trends sooner and accelerate product development, particularly in fast‑moving categories like apparel.
The company introduced AI‑powered gift recommendation features and app updates aimed at helping guests build themed carts (for example, movie night” bundles or curated gifting ideas) more quickly.
Coverage from Bring Me The News and syndicated partners frames this as part of a broader deal with ChatGPT”, positioning the retailer as using generative AI to make shopping more intuitive and personalized.
These announcements landed against the backdrop of another quarter of declining sales and nearly a 20% drop in profits year over year, reinforcing skepticism among some customers and commentators that tech alone can’t fix Target’s deeper brand and value challenges.

The central question: can AI‑driven discovery and smarter digital merchandising actually drive traffic, or will shoppers simply chase the lowest price across platforms?

Wall Street Today: Big Funds Shuffle Their Target Positions

A cluster of 13F‑driven headlines dated November 23, 2025 show how large asset managers are repositioning around Target after earnings.

From multiple MarketBeat institutional‑ownership alerts released today: ^[28]

Franklin Resources Inc.
- Trimmed its Target position by about 11.3% in Q2, selling nearly 938,000 shares.
- Still holds roughly 7.4 million shares, worth about $730 million, or around 1.6% of the company. ^[29]
Mediolanum International Funds Ltd
- Increased its Target stake by over 300%, adding more than 100,000 shares to reach about 137,500 shares valued near $13.6 million. ^[30]
Wealthspire Advisors LLC
- Reduced its position by 29.5%, selling 3,192 shares to end the quarter with 7,633 shares valued around $753,000. ^[31]
Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC
- Opened a new Target position of roughly 8,682 shares, valued at around $856,000. ^[32]

Across these filings, MarketBeat and Fintel data show:

About 79–80% of Target’s shares are in institutional hands, underscoring that professional money managers still dominate the shareholder base. ^[33]
The consensus analyst rating is Hold”, based on roughly 37 analyst opinions, with an average 12‑month price target around $100–$103 and a range from roughly $80 to $150. ^[34]

Analyst Price Target Moves Still Filter Through

In the days leading up to today’s coverage:

Goldman Sachs raised its price target on TGT to $97, citing an earnings beat but warning that lower long‑term margin guidance could weigh on the stock. ^[35]
Baird cut its target from $100 to $92 and kept a Neutral rating. ^[36]
Roth Capital slashed its FY2026 EPS estimate to $7.42 from $7.77 and highlighted that this sits well below a Street consensus closer to $8.69. ^[37]
Other firms like Royal Bank of Canada, Citi, TD Cowen, Mizuho and Piper Sandler have trimmed their price targets into the upper‑$80s to low‑$100s while largely sticking with Hold/Market Perform language. ^[38]

The upshot: Wall Street sees upside from today’s depressed share price but little consensus on how fast Target can recover.

Stock Snapshot: Battered but Stabilizing Around the High‑$80s

As of this weekend:

Target shares trade around $87–$88, with intraday data showing an open near $84.47, a recent high close to $89, and volume well above 12 million shares in the latest session. ^[39]
The stock recently hit a 52‑week low of $85.35 following the earnings release and guidance update. ^[40]
Over the past year, TGT is down close to 30–35%, depending on the exact start date, far underperforming the major indices. ^[41]
Target’s market cap is roughly $39–40 billion, and its P/E ratio near 10x trails broader retail and market benchmarks, suggesting investors are pricing in a long, bumpy turnaround. ^[42]
Thanks to a recent dividend increase to $1.14 per quarter (annualized $4.56), the forward dividend yield sits around 4–5%, well above Target’s five‑year average. ^[43]

For income‑focused investors, that yield is attractive—but only if they believe earnings and cash flow will remain strong enough to sustain it.

What Today’s News Means for Shoppers and Investors

For Shoppers

If you’re simply deciding whether to head to Target this week, today’s news flow is straightforward:

It’s a very good week to buy tech, toys, smaller kitchen appliances and select apparel, especially with overlapping promos, gift card offers and loyalty perks. ^[44]
Expect crowded early hours on Nov. 28, thanks to the tote‑and‑prizes giveaway for the first shoppers in line. ^[45]
If you’re into collectibles and fandom gear, today’s launch of exclusive items like the Mario Kart jacket makes Target more than just a commodity stop. ^[46]

For Investors

For current or prospective TGT investors (this is not investment advice):

Positives highlighted in today’s coverage

Holiday execution looks robust, with multi‑day Black Friday events, more exclusive products and heavy emphasis on convenience and same‑day fulfillment. ^[47]
Digital and membership ecosystems continue to grow, which could support margins over time. ^[48]
The dividend has been raised and currently yields materially more than the stock’s historical average. ^[49]
Institutional ownership remains high, and despite target cuts, many analysts still see upside from the current share price. ^[50]

Concerns and risks

Sales, profits and store visits are still trending downward, with traffic losses to Walmart, Amazon and others. ^[51]
Margins are under pressure, and several firms have lowered long‑term EPS estimates and price targets, echoing a show me” stance on the turnaround. ^[52]
The new CEO’s plan is substantial but may not be radical enough, according to some analysts, especially given the scale of competitive and brand‑reputation challenges. ^[53]

If you’re evaluating TGT, it’s worth thinking about whether today’s combination of depressed valuation + high yield + aggressive holiday push outweighs the risks of a slow or incomplete turnaround. For any real portfolio decisions, though, you should consider your own financial situation and talk to a qualified financial adviser.

Target unleashes Black Friday deals early