NEW YORK– Walmart delivered another standout quarter as the promise of lower prices during the critical holiday shopping season attracted a broader spectrum of Americans, including wealthier households.
However, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company’s outlook on Thursday pointed to a volatile economic environment.
Shares fell nearly 3% before the opening bell.
Walmart reported fourth-quarter earnings of $4.24 billion, or 53 cents per share for the quarter ended Jan. 31. Adjusted earnings per share were 74 cents, a cent better than Wall Street expected, according to FactSet.
Last year, the company reported net income of $5.25 billion, or 65 cents per share.
Revenue rose 5.6% to $190.7 billion from $180.6 billion, also above expectations.
Comparable sales at Walmart stores, including online sales, rose 4.6% after rising 4.5% in the previous quarter.
Global e-commerce sales increased by 24%.
It is the first quarter in more than ten years that the retail giant has reported quarterly figures under a new CEO.
John Furner, 51, who headed the company’s U.S. operations, took over Doug McMillon this month. McMillon had turned America’s largest retailer into a tech-powered behemoth and ushered in an era of robust sales growth after being named CEO of Walmart in 2014.
Shares of Walmart rose more than 25% since its last quarterly earnings report, and earlier this month it became the first non-tech company to reach a valuation of more than $1 trillion.
That’s happened, with many Americans thinking carefully about what they’re spending money on because of inflation and how the company is performing. This is seen as a barometer of consumer spending extensive customer base. According to Walmart, there are more than 150 million customers on its website or in stores every week.
While inflation has done that chilledconsumer prices have risen by approximately 25% over the past five years. Many economists expect that more companies will pass on the higher costs resulting from higher U.S. tariffs to their customers in the coming months.
Walmart’s promise of lower prices has broadened its base to wealthier consumers in that climate, with the biggest gains in market share coming from households with annual incomes above $100,000.
Walmart has managed higher costs by both shifting supply on store shelves and absorbing higher costs.
The company said it expects sales to rise 3.5% to 4.5% for the current quarter and earnings per share to be in the range of 63 cents to 65 cents. For this year, the company expects revenue of $706.4 billion and earnings per share of $2.64.
That’s slightly cooler than Wall Street predicted. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected first-quarter earnings per share of 68 cents. For this year, they expect earnings of $2.64 per share on revenue of $712.6 billion.
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