Walmart Earnings: What to Watch for at WMT

Retail giant Walmart (NYSE:WMT) will report earnings before the market opens tomorrow. Here’s what to watch for.

Walmart beat analysts’ revenue expectations by 2.1% last quarter, reporting revenue of $161.5 billion, up 6% year over year. It was a very strong quarter for the company: Walmart’s revenue beat Wall Street estimates due to slightly stronger-than-expected store sales growth. Gross margin was also better, leading to earnings per share above year over year.

Is Walmart a buy or sell on earnings? Read our full analysis for free here.

Analysts expect Walmart’s sales to rise 3.6% to $167.4 billion this quarter, slowing from the 5.7% increase in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to be $0.65 per share.

The majority of analysts covering the company have confirmed their estimates over the past 30 days and expect the company to stay on course and remain in profitability as well. Walmart has a history of beating Wall Street expectations, beating revenue estimates by an average of 2.5% each time over the past two years.

If we look at Walmart’s competitors in the non-discretionary retail segment, some have already reported their second-quarter results, giving us an indication of what to expect. Sprouts reported 11.9% year-over-year sales growth, beating analysts’ expectations by 3.2%, and Grocery Outlet reported 11.7% sales growth, beating estimates by 2.4%. Sprouts posted a 13.2% gain after the results were released, while Grocery Outlet also rose 6%.

Read our full analysis of Sprouts’ results here and Grocery Outlet’s results here.

Growth stocks have seen increased volatility as investors debate the Fed’s monetary policy. And while some of the non-discretionary retail stocks have fared a little better, they have not been spared. Their share prices have fallen an average of 8% over the past month. Walmart has fallen 2.6% over the same period and is moving into profit territory with an average analyst price target of $73.9 (compared to the current share price of $68.17).

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