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Walmart posted record sales in its holiday quarter as a new round of stimulus checks and a slowdown in coronavirus cases encouraged Americans to spend on gifts and housewares.
Demand from the world’s largest retailer recovered from the previous quarter. Comparable sales at Walmart stores in the United States rose 8.6 percent excluding fuel in the three months ending in late January. This topped like-for-like sales growth of 6.4% in the October quarter and analysts’ forecast of 5.6%.
Walmart said demand in the United States was strong in most key product categories, contributing to a 7.3% year-on-year increase in overall revenue to $ 152 billion.
The results also reflect the shift of consumers to online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic. Walmart’s online sales jumped 69%, well above the 35% gain recorded a year earlier.
However, Walmart warned that net sales and earnings per share are expected to decline in the new fiscal year, mainly due to planned divestments. Excluding these effects, he expects lower single-digit sales growth and stable or slightly higher earnings per share.
In the fourth quarter, operating income rose 3.1% year-on-year to $ 5.5 billion. Walmart earned $ 1.39 per share on an adjusted basis, up from $ 1.38 a year earlier, but without a consensus estimate of $ 1.51.
The company’s shares fell 4.9 percent in pre-trade.
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