Let's review, shall we? Gasoline prices are killing consumer spending. The hurricanes are going to disrupt buying habits. Rising interest rates will curtail shopping. A decline in the rate of growth of housing prices will put a damper on consumer enthusiasm.

Makes you think that people are going to just stop buying socks, bed linens, and coffeemakers, doesn't it? Well, I don't buy the notion that people are going to stop shopping. Sure, Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) might not move as many high-end TVs, and Coach (NYSE:COH) might see more people go from real shoppers to window shoppers. But people still buy the staples of life -- that's why they're called staples.

That's good news for Target (NYSE:TGT), and the country's No. 2 discount retailer continues to grow nicely. Sales rose nearly 12% this quarter, with same-store sales up 5.9% in the period. Gross margins improved nicely, as did the EBIT margin. Excluding the impact of discontinued operations in the year-ago period, the company produced very respectable bottom-line growth.

I can understand if some part-time investors have a little trouble in valuing Target. After all, the company is delivering not only negative free cash flow, but increasingly negative free cash flow. A significant percentage of the capital expense is tied to growth, and thus excludable from most free cash flow-based valuation models, but separating growth and capital expenditures for maintenance is a topic for another day.

I will suggest, though, that Target makes a good case for using two valuation methods: one based upon cash flow, and the other based upon earnings. Using an earnings-based approach, the stock looks more or less fairly valued. You can buy it here and probably get a pretty decent return over the long haul -- but it's not as cheap as Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT). Given its superiority in cash conversion and other operational details, Wal-Mart might be the best company to have in your sights here.

Further Foolishness that hits the spot:

Best Buy is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation.

Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).