Trending tickers: Target, Walmart, James Hardie Industries, Hertz and WH Smith

Target Corporation (TGT)

Shares in Target (TGT) fell more than 6% on Wednesday, after the US retailer announced that chief operating officer Michael Fiddelke will become the company's new CEO.

Fiddelke is set to take over from Brian Cornell, who will become the executive chair of Target's board, both effective from 1 February 2026.

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The announcement comes as the company seeks to turnaround performance, with results released on Wednesday showing net sales in the second quarter edged 0.9% lower to $25.2bn (£18.7bn).

Net earnings for the quarter fell 21.5% to $935m, with diluted earnings per share down 20.2% to $2.05 compared to the same period last year.

Target maintained its guidance for the year, expecting a low single digit decline in sales and adjusted earnings per share of $7 to $9.

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At close: August 20 at 4:00:02 PM EDT Advanced Chart

Walmart (WMT)

Another retail stock in focus on Thursday was Walmart (WMT), with shares steady in pre-market trading ahead of the company reporting its second quarter earnings before the US market open.

In Walmart's first quarter results, chief financial officer John David Rainey said that the company had decided to hold off on providing a specific range of guidance for operating income growth and earnings per share for the second quarter, given the "dynamic nature of the backdrop".

Walmart did guide to net sales growth of 3.5% to 4.5% for the quarter, based on the $167.8bn it reported a year ago.

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AJ Bell's (AJB.L) investment director Russ Mould and head of financial analysis Danni Hewson said that analysts expect a headline figure for net sales of $174bn.

"That turns into a consensus analysts’ forecasts for [net profit in] the second quarter of $5.8bn, and a headline earnings per share figure of $0.72, up from $0.67 a year ago," they said.

"For the full year to January 2026, Walmart has thus far guided to a net sales increase on a constant currency basis of 3% to 4% and analysts’ headline estimate for the top line is $699bn," they added. "Management expects full-year EPS to come in between $2.50 and $2.60, and the current analysts’ consensus is $2.58."

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At close: August 20 at 4:00:02 PM EDT Advanced Chart

James Hardie Industries (JHX)

Shares in James Hardie Industries (JHX) tumbled nearly 35% on Wednesday, after the global building materials company pointed to a weak US housing market and homeowners reluctant to spend on big projects.

In first quarter results released on Tuesday, CEO Aaron Erter said: "Presently, demand in both repair & remodel and new construction in North America is challenging. Uncertainty is a common thread throughout conversations with customer and contractor partners.

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"Homeowners are deferring large-ticket remodelling projects like re-siding, and affordability remains the key impediment to improvement in single-family new construction, where more recently, homebuilders are moderating their demand expectations and slowing starts to align their home inventory with a decelerating pace of traffic and sales."

For the first quarter, James Hardie posted a 9% fall in net sales to $899.9m, with net income down 60% to $62.6m. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.29, which was 28% lower than the same quarter last year.

While shares hovered just above the flatline in pre-market trading on Thursday, the stock is still down 39.5% year-to-date.

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At close: August 20 at 4:00:02 PM EDT Advanced Chart

Hertz (HTZ)

Shares in Hertz (HTZ) jumped nearly 6% on Wednesday and were up 1.3% in pre-market trading on Thursday, after the rental car firm announced a tie-up with Amazon (AMZN).

Hertz said on Wednesday that its car sales business is partnering with Amazon Autos to sell its used cars on the platform.

Through the partnership, Hertz said that customers will be able to buy its pre-owned vehicles online via Amazon Autos, and then pick up them up at Hertz Car Sales locations.

The company said that this will initially begin in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Seattle, with plans to expand to 45 Hertz Car Sales locations across the US.

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WH Smith (SMWH.L)

On the London market, shares in WH Smith (SMWH.L) plummeted 35% on Thursday morning, after the retailer cut its North America profit forecast following an accounting error.

The travel retailer said that a financial review had identified an overstatement of around £30m ($40.4m) of expected headline trading profit in North America, which it said was "largely due to the accelerated recognition of supplier income" in this division.

As a result, WH Smith said it now expects North America headline trading profit for the year to come in at approximately £25m, down from previous guidance of £55m. The company said it now expects full-year headline profit before tax and non-underlying items to be in the region of £110m.

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WH Smith said its board had instructed Deloitte to undertake an independent and comprehensive review.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "WHSmith's bid to turn around its flagging share price has been dealt a major blow by today's news.

He said that the drop in shares "shows that investors are fretting that this could be the tip of the iceberg, especially since the firm has called in the auditors. The news means that the three-year recovery in earnings will take a big hit, but perhaps the reaction seems a little overdone, especially now it has shed itself of the underperforming UK High Street arm."

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As of 9:33:42 AM GMT+1. Market Open. Advanced Chart

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