Target CEO Brian Cornell: 'Bring on the holiday shopping season'

Bring on the holiday shopping season, said Target Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell.

We expect a strong and robust holiday season. I am very proud of how our teams are preparing. We expect our momentum to continue, Cornell said at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit on Monday.

Brian Moynihan's comments echo a bullish take on the state of the U.S. shopper by Bank of America CEO Cornell at All Markets Summit.

As for Target, the raw data on its 2021 financial performance suggests it could have yet another impressive holiday season as a rising job market and rebounding wages power consumer spending.

Target's second quarter comparable sales rose 8.9%, fueled by a 12.7% increase in the number of transactions. The average transaction amount fell 3.4% after reaching 18.8% last year as consumers stocked up on essentials at the height of the pandemic. Operating profit margins widened to 9.8% from 9.1% a year ago.

Analysts see Target posting a 7% same-store sales increase for the holiday season. Operating margins are pegged to be relatively unchanged per analyst modeling, which would be a win in the current red-hot inflationary environment.

The Target story remains very much intact. That is, Target continues to position itself for growth on top of growth as it leans into a myriad of investments to drive sustainable sales increases and market share gains. Target's unwavering focus on customer engagement service, multi-category channel merchandising and value should continue to resonate, driving a sustainably higher level of sales margins, in our view, said Barclays analyst Karen Short in a research note to clients.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter and LinkedIn.