Target isn't just growing; it's eating other retailers' lunch. On a call with analysts, CEO Brian Cornell said his company made "meaningful share gains across every one of our core categories as guests increasingly rely on Target to reliably and safely serve their wants and needs."

Its operating income nearly doubled year over year, coming to $1.9 billion in Q3, and net earnings grew by 41.9%.

Moody's retail analyst Charlie O'Shea said that "[p]ast and continuing strategic investments are paying off in a big way, which combined with Target's superior execution resulted in significantly improved operating margin." He added that, "Target has built up sufficient margin cushion such that it can absorb the meaningful levels of promotions which will be necessary to compete effectively with the likes of Walmart and Amazon."

Target posted stronger growth in Q3 than its larger peer, Walmart, which posted strong but slowing sales gains for the quarter. Notably, while Walmart relied on growing ticket values to make up for traffic declines — a beneficial byproduct for mass merchants as consumers consolidate trips in the pandemic era — Target saw both ticket value and traffic growth during the same period.

Small guys die at the same time.