By Target’s earnings woes spilled over to shares of toy makers Hasbro and Mattel after the retailer said it saw a sharp slowdown in toy sales in October.
Target Corp.
TGT,
-13.12%
reported earlier fiscal third-quarter earnings that missed expectations by a wide margin and guided for a surprise decline in same-store sales for the current quarter covering the holiday season.
That slowdown included the discretionary category of toys at a time when the holiday shopping season was getting under way.
“[W]e saw a meaningful deceleration in toys this quarter, most notably in October,” said Target’s Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington in the post-earnings conference call with analysts, according to a FactSet transcript. “This is a trend we will continue to monitor closely as we move throughout the holiday season.”
Hasbro Inc.’s
HAS,
-4.67%
stock dropped 5.4% in afternoon trading Wednesday, putting it on track for the lowest close since March 2020. Mattel Inc.’s
MAT,
-2.18%
stock shed 2.7%, but was still above Monday’s two-year closing low of $16.66.
Also read: Hasbro is making too many ‘Magic: The Gathering’ cards, analyst says in downgrading stock.
In comparison, the SPDR Consumer Discretionary Select Sector exchange-traded fund
XLY,
-1.53%
fell 1.4% in afternoon trading, and the S&P 500 index
SPX,
-0.83%
lost 0.7%.
Last month, Hasbro reported third-quarter profit that missed expectations while Mattel fell short on sales and lowered its full-year outlook.
With the toy-sales trends in mind, Target’s Hennington said weeklong Black Friday deals will include prices of up to 50% off across the toys and games categories.
