And investors have looked at those reports and have grown increasingly pessimistic about the retail sector because of inflation and the possibility of a recession. To be fair, earnings per share (EPS) for these three retail giants did temporarily fall during the last major recession, even though revenue held up well, as the chart below shows. TGT EPS Diluted (TTM) data by YCharts However, other retail chains are coming out with surprisingly strong results today, including Macy's, Dollar General, and Williams-Sonoma.