Target second-quarter profit beats expectations

MINNEAPOLIS – Target Corp. reported a 3.7% increase in second-quarter net earnings to $704 million, or $1.03 per share, beating the consensus projection of 97 cents per share among analysts. "We’re very pleased with our second-quarter financial results, which benefited from an acceleration in the pace of our comparable-store sales growth," said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a statement. "We continue to focus on strong execution of our strategy, preparing Target to perform well in a variety of economic environments." Target’s retail segment turned in a 5.1% increase in sales to $15.9 billion that was