Target raises quarterly dividend to $1.16, extends annual growth streak

Target’s latest dividend increase is not a paycheck item for store teams, but it does say something about the company’s priorities at a time when workers are watching staffing, hours, pay and guest traffic. The board lifted the quarterly payout to $1.16 a share, up 1.8 percent from $1.14, with payment set for September 1 to shareholders of record on August 12.

For Target’s more than 400,000 team members, the news lands less as a direct reward than as a signal of financial steadiness. The company said 2026 is on track to become the 55th straight year it has raised its annual dividend, and the June payment will be Target’s 236th consecutive dividend since the company became publicly held in October 1967. That kind of consistency tends to matter on the floor, where store leaders are balancing traffic swings, seasonal demand and continued price pressure from shoppers.

The dividend update came one day after Target’s 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, closing out a June governance stretch that included votes on board matters. It also arrives after a major leadership reset at the top of the company: Michael Fiddelke became chief executive on February 1, 2026, while Brian Cornell moved into the executive chair role the same day. Target also added Stephen Bratspies and John Hoke, III, to the board in January.

Those changes matter because investors are watching execution closely, and that puts the spotlight on the parts of the business employees feel every day, including inventory accuracy, store condition and guest service. Target says all board members other than Cornell and Fiddelke are independent under New York Stock Exchange standards, a sign the company is still framing its oversight around governance discipline as it pushes through the leadership transition.

The payout increase also sits alongside a heavier investment plan. Target reported 2025 net sales of $104.78 billion, net earnings of $3.705 billion and diluted earnings per share of $8.13, while cash dividends declared for the year totaled $4.54 a share. In 2026, the company plans more than $2 billion in incremental investments, including more than $1 billion in added capital spending and another $1 billion in operating investments. Target ended 2025 with 1,995 stores, 70 supply-chain facilities and about 452.8 million common shares outstanding. For workers, the message is clear: shareholder returns remain intact, but so does the pressure to make the business run cleanly in stores, online and across the supply chain.