Target's turnaround continues with a solid beat and raise. Same-store sales rose 3.8% and transactions 3.6%, with higher gross and operating margins. Guidance moved higher, beating a high bar, with a 120 bp increase in operating margin. x.com 

Target's real value lies in its real estate, much like McDonald's, so the bankruptcy thesis from @porterstansb misses it. Plenty of capital can be unlocked from its roughly 1,550 owned stores through sale-leasebacks, which the balance sheet reveals. x.com 

Target's EBITDA multiple should not keep expanding when the backdrop is hurting its business on net while comparable companies retrench. The multiple is nearing Amazon's, yet almost no one would plausibly own Target over Amazon for any real length of time. Per @valuedrift, low multiples protect and high multiples leave a stock vulnerable. x.com 

Target filled its earnings gap and printed a doji candle, which usually signals a reversal, so it should start moving back up. Earnings were great and sentiment around the new CEO is positive. x.com 

Ross Stores is a catch-up play to TJX as it works to close its productivity gap. Off-price retail is strong as consumers seek value and plenty of inventory is available to buy. Better sales and selection make sellers and brands more willing to work with Ross, which draws more shoppers and improves inventory turns in a flywheel. x.com 

Rising gasoline prices are short-term bearish for Lululemon, e.l.f. Beauty, Celsius, Nike, Ulta Beauty, Target and Deckers. Consumers squeezed at the pump spend less on discretionary items, while businesses face higher freight and logistics costs that pressure margins. Long term, the weakness should offer a chance to accumulate great brands at cheaper prices. x.com 

Amazon is a cash cow trading at a lean multiple, while CEO Andy Jassy says AWS is booming. x.com 

Off-price retailers TJX and Ross Stores have almost everything going for them except broad consumer weakness, and even there they probably benefit from trade-down, or are far less hurt than many consumer categories. Ross is crushing it, while TJX gets too much hate: relatively weaker, but its business is not falling apart, and the two are not just in a knife fight for share. x.com  x.com 

Lululemon is probably going lower because sales and margins are imploding while inventory grows, and a new unproven CEO is coming in. Q3 guidance calls for revenue down 10-11%, North America down mid-teens and inventory up low single digits; full-year revenue should fall 5-7% with inventory up mid single digits. Even granting $6 of annualized EPS versus a ~$4 run rate, 12x for an off-trend retailer implies about $70, versus $100 after an 18% drop. x.com  x.com 

Abercrombie & Fitch can define what is cool, while Lululemon is a category leader that would have to change its identity to adapt. Abercrombie executed its e-commerce pivot, cut lower-tier mall exposure and de-emphasized logos, freeing it to be more creative. Fashion retail remains tough, with inventory planned 6-9 months out and price-sensitive consumers, but it trades at 7x earnings, buys back 12% of shares a year and holds $14 a share in cash on a $77 stock. x.com  x.com  x.com