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Wal-Mart earnings posts

Wal-Mart beats analyst estimates for Q3; warns of profit squeeze

Posted Nov 13th 2008 12:35PM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Wal-Mart (WMT)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported Q3 results this morning that beat analyst estimates, although it cautioned against future profits due to a stronger value of the American dollar. In an uncharacteristic tone by the company, it seemed upbeat about the in-progress holiday shopping season, which officially begins the Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday.

The world's largest retailer posted a profit of $3.03 billion or $0.77 per share for the latest quarter. This was up from $2.85 billion, or $0.70 per share in the year-ago quarter. In a quarter where consumers slashed their spending, they must not have done so at Wal-Mart. The retailer is seeing a windfall due to what seems like every American's belt-tightening. Not many others are experiencing the same good fortune from this shift in consumer behavior as Wal-Mart.

Revenue for the quarter also rose to $97.63 billion from $90.82 billion in the year-ago quarter -- a 7% increase. Although Wal-Mart beat consensus estimates by a penny, it fell short of the $98.42 billion revenue expectation at the same time. The retailer also indicated that Q4 profit would be impacted by the stronger U.S. dollar and the crimping in international business it would cause. Even with that drop, the company expects a Q4 profit take of $1.03 to $1.07 per share on the back of the holiday shopping season.

Wal-Mart sees 17% spike in Q2 profits -- how long can this last?

Posted Aug 14th 2008 9:55AM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Wal-Mart (WMT)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) blasted past quarterly expectations this morning when it reported 87 cents profit per share before the market opened this morning. The consensus had been $0.83 per share with $101.6 billion in revenue. Final figures came in at $102.67 in revenue for the retailer's second quarter -- almost $10 billion over the year-ago quarterly figure of $93 billion.

It's another example of how many Americans are hiding out at Wal-Mart day after day looking for cheaper prices on just about everything they buy. But that's not all -- international sales skyrocketed as well, seeing a 17% lift over the year-ago quarter compared to an 8.5% lift in the U.S. In addition, international profit spiked to 16.5% as well.

So, add up Wal-Mart's tagline Save Money. Live Better, the federal tax stimulus checks and the rising gas and food prices and there you have it -- Wal-Mart benefits from all. Although gas prices have trended downward in recent weeks, fuel is still expensive.

With Wal-Mart's failed attempt to lure more higher-spending (on higher-margin goods) customers, the company is falling back on its strength: low prices. The timing has been perfect for the retailer. But one has to ask: is fuel and commodity prices ever go back down to 2006 levels (yeah, right!), will customers return to their pseudo-affluent lifestyles and move out of Wal-Mart?

Wal-Mart (WMT) Q2 earnings preview

Posted Aug 13th 2008 10:48AM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Wal-Mart (WMT)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), the retailer that keeps on chugging along nicely in the U.S. economic downturn, is set to release its Q2 numbers Thursday. Expectations are for a profit of 83 cents per share on sales of $101.6 billion, an increase from the year-ago quarter earnings of 76 cents per share and sales of $93 billion.

As I've been saying since 2006, Wal-Mart's effort to draw more affluent and middle-class customers through its doors was no match for its continued message of low prices. Customers, now more than ever, are lining up all day (and night) at the local Wal-Mart to buy everything from cheaper gas to low-priced milk, bread, processed foods and flat-panel televisions.

When U.S. sales chief Eduardo Castro-Wright announced that the retailer was going to partially abandon its Always Low Prices moniker and go after shoppers who purchase higher margin goods, I had a feeling that Wal-Mart's entire history of competing only on price would win the day, regardless of the strategy change. Then the housing crisis hit, gas prices went nuts, the auto industry saw a huge sales downturn -- particularly in large trucks and SUVs -- and 'staycation' became part of the language.

Wal-Mart changed its tune last year and now sports a new logo and tagline that reads Save Money. Live Better -- and that's pretty direct in its meaning. Wal-Mart is helping the average American family save money on all purchases so it can spend the savings elsewhere, like gas and school supplies. Is Wal-Mart your friend? That's the image it wants to present, and when it releases its Q2 numbers, it should easily meet financial expectations as it goes for half a trillion in annual sales in the next few years.

Wal-Mart (WMT) sees 5.8% same-store sales increase in June

Posted Jul 10th 2008 9:22AM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Wal-Mart (WMT)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) continued its string of excellent results in 2008 by announcing a 5.8% same-store sales increase in June sales this morning. Wal-Mart has turned in some impressive same-store sales figures in recent months on its core strength -- the marketing and selling "low prices" to its customers.

Save Money, Live Better is not just a marketing slogan for the retail giant, but a way of life it's trying to help provide to customers. After all, the more money you save on everyday items and groceries, the more you can afford that gas for the short vacation you've planned.

To achieve Wal-Mart's command over taking more customer money in a tough economy, the retailer announced that the U.S. federal tax stimulus checks were mostly responsible for the June sales upswing. In May, Wal-Mart also indicated that those checks were helping lift its sales -- so it's not the first time. Until those checks have all been distributed, it will most likely be a major beneficiary.

Following the strong sales, Wal-Mart increased its guidance for second-quarter results that ended June 30. Second-quarter earnings per share results are now expected be between $0.82 and $0.84.

Wal-Mart Q3 earnings preview

Posted Nov 9th 2007 2:55PM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Deals, Wal-Mart (WMT)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) showed up for October same-store sales with a weal report card, posting a virtual flat growth of 0.4% against expectations of 1.1%. Meanwhile, Target (NYSE: TGT) surprised many by posting a increase of 4.1% in same-store sales during the same period.

The question, then, is this: what will Wal-Mart's quarterly results hold next week then the giant reports? Estimates are holding tight at $0.68 EPS, which would represent a 9.33% growth rate from the year-ago quarter. Will that be enough to satisfy the retailer's naysayers if the company can meet it? Hard to tell; the market is anything but logical some weeks (or months). Depends if the full moon is out.

The home furnishings and apparel businesses at the world's largest retailer continue to be a drag on performance, although re-tooling is in progress. That does not happen overnight, of course, so there are challenges in the next few quarters as Wal-Mart either gains a leg up somehow on the competition or settles into some odd comfort zone until mid-2008. Turning the Titanic around to avoid an iceberg is something that takes quite a bit of time, but investors are becoming impatient after half a decade of stock price stagnation.

Wal-Mart (WMT) reports earnings and lowers guidance

Posted Aug 14th 2007 7:10AM by Zac Bissonnette (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Wal-Mart (WMT)

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) reported its second quarter earnings today, and lowered its outlook for the year. Net sales increased 8.8% and income from continuing operations was up 4.1%. But CEO Lee Scott ain't buying it:

"Although some people will report that Wal-Mart has had record sales and earnings, our underlying operating performance this quarter is not what we expect of ourselves, and not what our shareholders expect of us. For the remainder of this year, our management team is focused on inventory improvements, delivering quality products at low prices, and store execution at the highest standards."

Scott said that the company continues to be pressured by global economic concerns, and the company expect a 1-3% increase in same-store sales in the United States for the third quarter. It lowered its full-year forecast from EPS of $3.15-3.23 to 3.05-3.13.

Its forecast for the third quarter is below the consensus, and the stock should see some downward pressure today. Wal-Mart may be another victim of the subprime crisis, as lower-income Americans are finding themselves in a tight spot.

Liveblogging Wal-Mart's Q4 / Fiscal Year 2007 earnings results

Posted Feb 20th 2007 6:59AM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Live Coverage, Wal-Mart (WMT)

Wal-Mart is releasing the performance figures for the just-completed Q4 period and for the entire 2007 fiscal year. I'll be liveblogging the conference call here now before the market opens today, so let's get started! Did Wal-Mart meet, beat or match expectations this past quarter.

All times below are in EST.

7:00am -- the call is started with Wal-Mart's CEO and CFO (Lee Scott and Tom Schowe) for the fourth quarter's results first up to bat. Right to business here, folks. Wal-Mart's sales rise for its just completed quarter came in at 10.9% above the year-ago figure, with 8.8% increase in earnings ($2.92 EPS for FY2007). Ane sales? $345 billion in net sales for FY2007.

7:02am -- Scott is really doting on U.S. chief Eduardo Castro-Wright, as U.S. sales saw "impressive growth", whatever that means. We're sure to hear specifics later. He's going over domestic and international operations, and he glosses over (saves for later) the closings in Germany and South Korea.

7:09am -- Scott is again saying that "the people" of Wal-Mart may the company's results happen. He's talked about "the people" several times already from his carefully-worded script. This is a little of a change from previous quarters.

Continue reading Liveblogging Wal-Mart's Q4 / Fiscal Year 2007 earnings results

Wal-Mart releases record-setting quarterly earnings and sales

Posted May 16th 2006 10:22AM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Live Coverage, Wal-Mart (WMT)

Although it was a maddening process to try and find investor and media relations contacts to try and find a telephone number for an earnings release conference call (Note to Wal-Mart: you need to publish this as a service to your shareholders!), we finally called an actual person to try and get this information at Wal-Mart's media relations department. Wow -- way unhandy if you ask us. The best we could do was leave a voice mail in the investor relations department, and no callback as of right now.

While we're waiting on the earnings press release today, we won't stoop to speculate on what Wal-Mart has in store for the investor world as it reports quarterly earnings -- bad or good, high or low.

Update: 8:27AM CST -- Ok folks, the business wire has made the Wal-Mart earnings announcement available before Wal-Mart even has. We'll shrug that odd situation out and get down to business. Net sales for the quarter were $79.613 billion, an increase of 12.3% over the first quarter of fiscal 2006. Net income for the quarter was $2.615 billion, an increase of 6.3% from $2.461 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2006.

These numbers reflect record-setting earnings and overall store sales, a semi-surprise but not earth-shattering to most WMT followers. Not only did the Sam's Club division show excellent growth -- an 8.1% operating incoming increase over the year-ago period -- Wal-Mart's international division had a wallop of an increase of 22.9% over the year-ago period, mostly based on some acquisition activity that bolstered net sales. Read more!