Last week, major news outlets reported that Target expects to suffer an additional $500 million in losses due to a surge in "organized retail crime." There is one major problem with these headlines: they are objectively false. The reports were based on Target's earnings call for the first quarter, which took place on May 17. During the call, Target did not say that losses from "organized retail crime" would increase by $500 million in 2023. Rather, Target estimated that its total inventory "shrink" in 2023 would increase by $500 million this year. Here is a direct quote from Target Chief Financial Officer Michael Fiddelke: