Target
Through the investors’ lenses
Each of these investors has said in public what they look at before buying. Click a name to see how this company measures up — a tick where it passes one of their tests, a cross where it does not.
Warren Buffett 2/4
| Measure | TGT | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $3.11bn | positive | ✓ |
| Return on equity | 22.9% | median 11.7% | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.89x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 4.9% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 2 of 4. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Target. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 1/4
| Measure | TGT | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 16.7% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | 1.77x | median 1.78x | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 4.9% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.89x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Target. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 2/3
| Measure | TGT | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 16.7% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
| Return on equity | 22.9% | median 11.7% | ✓ |
| Operating margin | 4.9% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 2 of 3. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Target. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 2/4
| Measure | TGT | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 22.9% | median 11.7% | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.89x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
| Cash conversion | 1.77x | median 1.78x | ✗ |
| Return on equity, sustained | 10 of 10 | 8 of 10 above median | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 4. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Target. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 1/4
| Measure | TGT | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 4.9% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Net margin | 3.5% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
| Return on capital employed | 16.7% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
| Operating margin, held or improving | 4.9% | 10-yr median 5.5% | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Target. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 0/2
| Measure | TGT | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 0.94x | median 1.25x | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.89x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 2. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Target. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 1/2
| Measure | TGT | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 0.94x | 2.00x published | ✗ |
| Long-term debt to working capital | — | 1.00x published | — |
| Positive earnings, ten years running | 10 yrs | 10 published | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 2. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Target. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Joel Greenblatt 1/1
| Measure | TGT | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 16.7% | median 10.1% | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 1. To be clear: Joel Greenblatt has never said anything about Target. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 0/2
| Measure | TGT | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 0.89x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
| Net margin | 3.5% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Target. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 55.8% | whyThe figure most screeners publish. |
| Operating cash flow | 31.3% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | 72.4% | whyAfter maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 41.1 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 14 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 10/50Direction 0/30Stability 4/20
Against its own history: 72.4% this year vs 32.5% median over the prior 5. A gap this size is usually a one-off — acquisition, settlement, cyclical trough — not a dividend that stopped being funded. The rating reads the latest year; the table shows the trend.
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | 72.4% |
| 2025-02-01 | 45.7% |
| 2024-02-03 | 52.7% |
| 2022-01-29 | 30.5% |
| 2021-01-30 | 17.1% |
| 2020-02-01 | 32.5% |
Coverage worsened sharply this year, 45.7% to 72.4%, after no clear trend before it. One year is not a trend, but it is worth knowing which direction the last one moved.
20% of the 44 consumer discretionary here pay out more — at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $4.54 ÷ diluted EPS $8.13
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $2,053m ÷ operating cash flow $6,562m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $2,053m ÷ (operating cash flow $6,562m − capex $3,727m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-03-11 · accession 0000027419-26-000016
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Computed straight from SEC XBRL. A number that looks wrong to you is more useful to us than agreement — tell us.
What the free cash flow payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Also on: rated not covered · when it files.
When this changes
Every figure above is recomputed whenever Target files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.