Walmart (WMT) reported better-than-expected earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter early Thursday. The discount giant, which delivered a relatively upbeat sales outlook, said it would focus on pricing as many of its buyers are worried about inflation. After a modest gain initially, WMT stock was little changed before the open.
Walmart's earnings
Walmart's earnings jumped 10% to $1.53 per share, with sales rising somewhat to $152.87 billion. Analysts estimate Walmart's earnings per share of $1.50 on revenue of $151.3 billion.
US Walmart same-store sales, fuel advanced 5.6%, excluding meeting forecasts. Walmart's U.S. E-commerce sales were up only 1% versus a year ago, but 70% versus two years ago.
Sam's Club sales increased by 10.4%.
The retailer sees US Walmart growing a little over 3% in the new fiscal year 2023.
Walmart stuck to its long-term growth forecast to see earnings grow in the mid-single digits.
Walmart raised its dividend one percent to 56 cents per share. It plans to buyback $10 billion worth of WMT stock in fiscal year 2023
WMT Stock
Shares of the Dow Jones retail giant rose in early stock market trading after rising 3% at one point. WMT stock has been falling for the past few weeks, trading near its worst level since last March. Walmart stock is well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
The relative strength line for WMT stock has been trailing since March 2020 and is at a six-year low. The RS line, the blue line in the chart provided, tracks the performance of the stock versus the S&P 500 Index.