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Shares of Walmart hit a record high on Tuesday after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
The US retail giant climbed 5.9 per cent after it forecast fiscal year sales above Wall Street estimates.
At 11:34 am GMT, the stock was at $176.40, up 3.55 per cent.
It also raised its annual dividend by 9 per cent, biggest hike in more than 10 years.
The Bentonville-based Walmart earned $5.49 billion, or $2.03 per share in the quarter ended January 31, 2024, as compared to $6.27 billion, or $2.32 per share in the same quarter a year ago.
Its sales in the reported quarter rose by 5.7 per cent to $173.38.
In the past 12 months, store sales — from established stores and online operating over — rose 4 per cent, slower than the 4.9 per cent for the Walmart US division in the previous quarter.
Its global e-commerce sales rose 23 per cent in the January quarter, as compared to 15 per cent in the previous quarter.
The company reported 28 per cent increase in its global advertising business at $3.4 billion.
Walmart also revealed that it would buy smart TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion to boost its advertising business.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on Tuesday that general merchandise prices are lower than a year ago and even two years ago in some categories. It is mixed in the grocery, with eggs, apples and deli snacks cheaper than last year, and prices for asparagus and black berries rising.
Dry grocery and consumables like paper goods and cleaning supplies are up in the mid-single-digit percentages compared with last year and high teens versus two-years ago, he added.
The US retailer had recently announced plans to build or convert more than 150 stores in the next five years, while remodelling the existing stores. It has not launched a new store since late 2021.
For the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the company forecast earnings per share to be in the range of $1.48 to $1.56, and for the whole fiscal year between $6.70 and $7.12 per share.
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Published: 20 Feb 2024, 10:02 PM IST
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