US retailer Target rallies after back-to-school season fuels sales

New York

TARGET Corp rallied the most in almost eight years after a strong back-to-school season fuelled third-quarter earnings, stoking optimism for the retailer as it heads into the holidays.

Profit for the quarter came to US$1.04 a share in the period, excluding some items, the Minneapolis-based company said on Wednesday. Analysts had estimated 83 US cents on average, according to data complied by Bloomberg.

The numbers signal that Target is rebounding from an unexpected drop in traffic in the previous quarter. Chief executive officer Brian Cornell has had a challenging year of fighting competitors on two fronts, with e-commerce rivals and grocery competitors chipping away at Target's business. Though same-store sales fell 0.2 per cent for the m…