After 11 years leading Target, CEO Brian Cornell will step down as the company navigates declining sales and mounting criticism for retreating from its DEI commitments. Michael Fiddelke, Target’s chief operating officer and a 20-year veteran who began as an intern, will take over on February 1, 2026.
Cornell, who will remain executive chairman, helped transform Target’s stores and digital presence when he took the helm in 2014. But recent years haven’t been kind.
“Target, which used to be very attuned to consumer demand, has lost its grip on delivering for the American shopper,” said Neil Saunders of GlobalData Retail. He criticized the board for “an internal appointment that does not necessarily remedy the problems of entrenched groupthink.”
Sales have dropped for three straight quarters. On Wednesday, shares plummeted 10% in premarket trading. Target’s stock is now among the year’s worst performers on the S&P 500.
Earlier in 2025, Target scaled back diversity and inclusion initiatives, triggering backlash from customers and even from the Dayton family, whose relatives helped found the brand. “A betrayal,” said Anne and Lucy Dayton.
Tariffs and consumer pullbacks have further hit Target hard. The company’s heavy reliance on discretionary goods and imports forces higher price increases compared to rivals like Walmart.
Bank of America’s Robert Ohmes warned, “Target is falling behind peers and has tougher challenges.” While the company boomed during the pandemic, it has since struggled with overstock, inflation, and polarizing controversies, signs that its golden era under Cornell may be over.
