Target sees brighter 2022 with easing supply pressures

STORY: Shares of Target jumped as high as 13% at the start of trading on Tuesday, after the U.S. retailer posted record holiday quarter earnings and forecast an upbeat 2022.

The company affectionately known as Tar-gét also said it expects supply chain pressures to ease later in the year.

Margins remain front and center for investors this earnings season, with big retailers spending heavily to expedite shipments and hiring thousands more people to navigate bottlenecks and ensure well-stocked shelves.

Target said it expects profits to improve later this year, as sales have surged from new online options and same-day delivery.

The company said same-day businesses, which allow shoppers to pull into a store and pick up goods in minutes or get them delivered within hours, rose 45% last year.

In-store partnerships with Apple and Ulta Beauty, and a new tie-up with Starbucks on curbside pickup are also expected to bring in more people to its stores.

But there was a note of caution on the earnings call from CEO Brian Cornell, who said that while the company sees supply chain constraints "steadily working themselves out," he said the situation has now been "made more uncertain by the crisis in Ukraine" following the invasion by Russia.