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Walmart Inc. CEO Doug McMillon said on Thursday that there should be a discussion about the ban on assault weapons in the United States.
McMillon made this comment while Walmart released its second quarter financial results, but neither he nor Dan Bartlett,
WMT, + 0.27%
The executive vice president of corporate affairs, who attended a news conference after the earnings announcement, explained in detail Walmart's position on the issue.
The retail giant has been at the center of a discussion on gun violence following the massive August 3 shooting at an El Paso Walmart store and a shootout in Mississippi that killed two workers.
Walmart stopped selling military-style rifles, including AR-15s, in 2015, and stopped selling handguns in all states except Alaska in the mid-1990s.
The retailer has raised the age limit to 18 to switch a gun or ammunition to 21 in 2018 after mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Lily: Walmart's mass production in El Paso focuses on new risks for retailers
"In the national debate on gun safety, we are encouraged by the broad support that is emerging to strengthen background checks and to remove weapons from those who have been determined to represent imminent danger," he said. McMillon in his comments.
Walmart only sells guns after the "go ahead" has been granted to a background check, while federal law states that there is no "red light" after three working days. And the company will only allow certain employees to sell firearms, film the point of sale and establish lockout cases for gun safety.
"We do not sell military-style rifles, and we believe that re-authorization of the assault weapons ban should be debated in order to determine its effectiveness in preventing killer murderers from fabricating weapons. weapons of war, "said McMillon.
"We also need to do more to understand the root causes that lead to this type of violent behavior."
According to the company, Walmart currently accounts for about 2% of the firearms market, "which we believe places us at least among the top three vendors in the industry." And the retailer says that he holds about 20% of the ammo.
Also: Opinion: How Walmart and Other Companies Could Transform the Firearms Debate
"We think it's time for Congress to debate," Bartlett said at the press call. "We will give our point of view. We are looking forward to the conversation. "
Mr. McMillon made a statement to the company's employees following the shooting in El Paso, in which he explained that the company was trying to understand the problems resulting from the shootings at Walmart's premises.
"Our responses will be thoughtful and thoughtful and we will act to reflect the best values and ideals of our society, focusing on meeting the needs of our customers, associates and communities," the statement said.
Walmart is under increasing pressure to stop selling firearms and has been threatened with boycotts after removing video game posters and hunting videos referring to gun violence but keeping weapons on sale .
Walmart also announced mixed profits with earnings above expectations but sales below. Same-store sales in the US increased 2.8%, exceeding the FactSet consensus, with growth of 2.6%, while e-commerce grew 37%.
The results were sufficient to push the equity futures contracts into positive territory in the hours preceding the commercialization. Walmart's stock was up 4.4% in Thursday's trading.
"We like Walmart because of the defensive qualities of the stock, because we believe the retailer can perform in a cautious and optimistic consumer and retail environment," Cowen analysts wrote. "We believe the combination of physical stores with digital options is the future of retail and Walmart shines here."
Cowen estimates that Walmart's stock is outperforming with a target price of $ 130.
"Walmart continues to grow, with second quarter results generating positive returns on the company's previous investments, a trend we expect to continue in the near future," said Charlie O'Shea, vice president of Moody & # 39; s. "In particular, the US performance has improved on all fronts compared to the previous year despite the impact of rising promotions, especially around Amazon's Prime Day, in mid-July, and Walmart continues to develop its market share tactically, as evidenced by the increase in margins.
Analysts predicted that other retailers would benefit from Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN, + 0.93%
First day in July. Walmart's McMillon does not intend to say that e-commerce was "strong" during the quarter "including for our four-day sales event in July".
Walmart's results have likely led many retail investors to sigh with relief after Macy's Inc.'s disastrous numbers.
M -1.11%
Wednesday, which shows the weakness of department stores described by Moody's in recent months and that other analysts fear that the retail trade is deteriorating more than expected.
See: Macy's results indicate that the retail environment is worse than expected, analysts say.
"We remain optimistic about Walmart stocks and note that the company's low price positioning, growth capacity, strong financial position and defensive product mix should make it a key title to own in this time of great macro uncertainty. ", wrote John Zolidis, president of Quo Vadis. .
In addition, Zolidis is optimistic about other discount retailers following the Walmart announcement, including Target Corp.
TGT + 2.00%,
Dollar Tree Inc.
LTRD, + 0.61%
and Five Below Inc.
FIVE, + 1.59%
Walmart stock has risen 21% since the beginning of the year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, + 1.20%
gained 9.6% and the S & P 500 index
SPX, + 1.44%
is up 13.6%.
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