Atchison, Kansas. Walmart store logo with gardening products for sale. (Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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Walmart on Thursday raised its full-year forecast, as the discounter leaned on its low-price reputation to draw grocery customers and drive online spending.
The big-box retailer beat Wall Street’s expectations for sales and profits. E-commerce sales for Walmart U.S. also jumped 24%.
Walmart said it now expects full fiscal year consolidated net sales to increase by about 4% to 4.5%. It said adjusted earnings per share for the year will range between $6.36 and $6.46. That compares with its prior guidance for consolidated net sales gains of 3.5% and an adjusted earnings per share increase of between $6.10 and $6.20.
In a CNBC interview, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said Walmart saw “modest improvement” in the quarter with sales of big-ticket and discretionary items, such as electronics and home goods. Sales of those items have been weaker for more than a year as Americans spend more on necessities like food.
He described the consumer as “choiceful or discerning” and said seasonal moments, such as the Fourth of July holiday and back-to-school, have helped drive sales.
Shares rose about 2% in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported for the three-month period ended July 31 compared with what analysts were expecting, according to consensus estimates from Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $1.84 adjusted vs. $1.71 expected
- Revenue: $161.63 billion vs. $160.27 billion expected
Walmart’s net income for the quarter jumped by about 33% to $7.89 billion, or $2.92 per share, compared with $5.15 billion, or $1.88 per share a year earlier.
Same-store sales for Walmart U.S. increased 6.4% in the second quarter, excluding fuel, compared with the year-ago period.
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