"Bad Leaders DESTROY Companies" - Target Loses $12B & Stock CRASHES After CEO SHOCKING Exit
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Why did Target's stock plunge after the new CEO announcement?
When you think about what happened with Target, Target stock plunges 7% as the new CEO picks. New CEO pick disappoints Wall Street. There won't be change when change is needed. This is page 16. Rob, I want to combine this with Walmart together, Rob. And then, Tom, I'm going to come to you, and I think you're going to be ready for this one. All right, so let's do this one here. Target shares up 7% to 98% after naming chief operating officer Michael... Fidelke as CEO effective February 1st, 2026, replacing Brian Cornell, who said there is no one better suited to move Target forward than Michael Fidelke. But investors expecting an external hire were disappointed. Gerald Storch, former Target vice chairman and ex Toys R Us CEO, told The Post.
This guy's apparently got credibility. He's the ex-Toys R Us CEO. The stock price reflects that there won't be change when change is needed. Fidelke, 20-year veteran at Target, responded during an internal meeting saying there are no shortage of critics out there today. The way to prove these critics wrong is with action that leads to results. Target reported a 1.9% decline in same-store sales for the second quarter, ending August 2nd, 2025, with customer transactions down 1.3%, and average spending per transaction down 0.6%, despite beating Wall Street earnings estimates. Fidelke noted on a post-earning call, now we need to move More of those examples across the category, but they can give me a ton of confidence that we're on the right path here, citing improvements in home goods like Disney and Marvel.
Now, while this is happening, folks, the complete opposite is happening with Walmart. Walmart wins over more shoppers. as tariff push prices higher. Those are two separate stories. Rob, is this a tariff story or the Target story?
This is Walmart and the tariffs.
Okay. Did you have the Target story as well?
What factors contributed to Target's decline compared to Walmart?
You had a clip on Target? Yes. Is this the pastor? This is the pastor. Okay, so CNN does a story on this one pastor. I don't know if you guys remember this or not. And this actually became a very big campaign that this black pastor was driving, saying black Americans spend $12 million a day at Target, but Target doesn't listen to us. Watch this clip. Go for it.
Let's be honest. When you started this, there were naysayers.
There were people who didn't believe the fast would work. Yeah. Where we are right now is the stock has plummeted. The valuation has dropped by $12 billion. Foot traffic is down by 7.9%. The former CEO's salary was slashed by 42%, and now they got a new CEO. What have you learned through this process about the interaction of Target and this community in particular? Well, this is the most effective and sustainable boycott for black people in 70 years since the Montgomery bus boycott. And so it was not muscle memory. We had to teach a new generation on the sustainability of unity and that you don't see it overnight. But it's a protracted process.
Look, if you didn't know, we, a lot of people, especially black people, love Target. In fact, they gave it a nickname of Tarjay at some point. What was that like trying to convince folks out there to give it up?
Knowledge is power. The Bible says people die from a lack of knowledge. When black people understood that we spend $12 million a day at Target, and I couldn't think or find one black company that earns $12 million a day, people began to have the light bulb go off and say, I can't spend my dollars where I'm not getting dignity.
Tom, thoughts? Well, there's three things here. First, Target in 2023, they go back. They had a CEO that came from the outside world, didn't grow up in Target. He was there 10 years. The first five got kind of rough because, boom, suddenly he's in COVID. But as it came out of COVID in 2023, he went DEI crazy and was putting all of these trans kids bathing suits for six-year-olds. Talk. Yeah, that contained instructions and said they were tuck-friendly. So tell your six-year-old boy, don't worry about this little extra equipment you came with. We're just going to tuck it in here.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Why did Target's stock plunge after the new CEO announcement?
0:00–1:53
2
What factors contributed to Target's decline compared to Walmart?
1:53–4:10
3
How did the DEI backlash impact Target's market value?
4:10–6:01
4
How did Walmart manage to thrive during Target's downturn?
6:01–6:44
5
What role did community boycotts play in Target's struggles?
6:44–16:50
6
What leadership decisions did Target make that backfired?
16:50–19:44
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from Valuetainment
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