Sales and profits slipped for Target during the crucial holiday quarter as customers held back on spending, and the Minneapolis-based company said there will be “meaningful pressure” on its profits to start the year because of tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China and other costs.

Target CEO Brian Cornell told reporters Tuesday at its annual investor meeting that shoppers will start seeing the prices of produce like avocados, which come from Mexico, go up industrywide as early as in a few days. He declined to comment specifically on what type of price hikes shoppers will see on Target shelves. But Cornell warned that shoppers will see price increases on certain goods at Target.

“I think things are unfolding so quickly,” Cornell said. “We will watch this carefully and understand, are these long-term tariffs? Is this a short-term action? How will this unfold over time? I think all of us are speculating, and I think we’re going to listen and learn and make sure that we can control the things we can control. But we don’t want to overreact right now to one day and one headline.”

The retailer beat most quarterly estimates, however, but shares fell nearly 3% Tuesday. Target also said that sales declined in February in part because of brutal weather that hurt apparel sales and declining consumer confidence. It anticipates that sales could be unchanged for the year amid increasing economic uncertainty.

Target’s fiscal fourth-quarter results were announced the same day the discounter held its annual investor meeting in New York. Target said it plans to invest anywhere from $4 billion to $5 billion this year in new store expansions, speeding up its online delivery, shortening its production cycle and other initiatives. Target plans to add 20 new stores this year, and it expects to add $15 billion in sales by 2030.

But tariffs and economic uncertainty loomed over the results.

President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, pushing markets in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. lower, and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies, not to mention China.

China said Tuesday that it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and also expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. Target said that back in 2017, 60% of its store-label products were sourced from China. That’s now at 30%, Target executives said.

Target reported net income of $1.1 billion, or $2.41 per share, far better than the $2.26 that Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey by FactSet. That is down from the $1.38 billion profit the company reported in the same period last year, though the most recent quarter had one fewer week of sales.

Revenue fell to $30.91 billion, from $31.9 billion, but that also beat expectations.

Target said Tuesday its earnings per share for the current year will be between $8.80 to $9.80. Wall Street had been projecting per-share earnings of $9.29 for the year. The company expects net sales to be up 1% and comparable sales to be flat this year.

— Associated Press

Best Buy shares down 13% on tariff warning

Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy on Tuesday echoed Target’s price warnings on its 2024 earnings call, telling investors that increases are “highly likely” on the gadgets and appliances it sells, due to tariffs. China and Mexico are the top two sources of products for the company, CEO Corie Barry said.

“International trade is critically important to our business and industry,” Barry said.

Best Buy reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $117 million. The Richfield-based company said it had net income of 54 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $2.58 per share. The results topped expectations.

The company posted revenue of $13.95 billion in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Ten analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $13.66 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $927 million, or $4.28 per share. Revenue was reported as $41.53 billion.

Shares lost 13% in trading Tuesday.

Trump bans Chevron from Venezuela

The Trump administration on Tuesday formally revoked the license that allows oil giant Chevron Corp. to sell Venezuelan oil in the United States, giving the U.S. company only 30 days to wind down its operations in the South American country.

The decision, which was announced last week by President Donald Trump, is likely to have a significant impact on the finances of the Nicolás Maduro regime, since Chevron produces about a quarter of the country’s total output.

In an announcement issued by the Treasury Department, the U.S. government said Chevron has until April 3 to end its operations in the South American country, instead of the five months granted by the Chevron license that was automatically renewed on Feb. 1.

Chevron’s production in Venezuela averages about 220,000 barrels per day, amounting to about 24% of the country’s current output of 900,000 barrels per day.

— From news services