Consumer Discretionary

The following is a summary of the Walmart Inc. (WMT) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript: Financial Performance: Walmart Inc. had a strong Q1 with a 5.7% increase in sales growth and a 12.9% increase in adjusted operating profit in constant currency. All operating segments saw increased growth driven primarily by growth in units sold and transaction counts. Inventory management improved, resulting in a decrease of 2.7% globally. Operational income for the quarter improved by about $900 million. Gross margins are improving due to reduced markdowns and higher contributions from newer businesses. The international operations performed well with a top-line growth of 10.7% and operating income growth of 27%. Business Progress: The company has made notable improvements in customer experience. Store remodels, improvements in curbside pick-up, and delivery services have been carried out. Walmart has launched a new private food brand, Better Goods, in the U.S. The number of marketplace sellers

Walmart’s share gains continued to be mainly driven by upper-income households in the 1Q, the retail giant says. U.S. comparable stores sales excluding fuel rose 3.8% in the period. Still, its average ticket remained flat. Overall in the quarter, Walmart saw strength across all operating segments, with global ecommerce sales growing 21% as a result of its in store-fulfilled pickup and delivery. Shares rise 5.5% to $63.14 in premarket trading.

Walmart (WMT) on Thursday recorded better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results buoyed by gains across all operating segments, prompting the retail giant to raise its full-year guidance. The company now anticipates to be at the high end or “slightly” above its original fiscal 2025 outlook for per-share adjusted earnings and sales growth. In February, Walmart issued a forecast for adjusted EPS to be between $2.23 and $2.37, with sales to increase by 3% to 4% at constant currency. The consensus on Capital IQ is for normalized EPS of $2.37 and revenue of $670.35 billion for the fiscal year. “We’ll revisit our full-year guidance as we exit (the second quarter),” Chief Financial Officer Rainey said on an earnings call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. “This is more aligned with our historic cadence of updates and consistent with the philosophy we have as a management team to recognize early momentum, but to also

Walmart’s (WMT) fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and US comparable sales are expected to fall short of market estimates while traffic trends are seen remaining strong, BofA Securities said Friday. The retail giant is scheduled to report fiscal Q1 results Thursday. BofA expects adjusted earnings of $0.51 per share and US same-store sales growth of 3.5%. The market consensus is for $0.52 and 3.7% growth, respectively, according to the firm. “Our F1Q comp forecast implies a slight deceleration vs. F4Q’s +4.0% given moderating grocery inflation and likely continued softness in general merchandise,” BofA analyst Robert Ohmes said. “However, we think strong observed transactions for WMT in F1Q according to Bloomberg Second Measure card data implies continued strong underlying momentum for WMT.” BofA maintained its buy rating on the Walmart stock, with a $67 price objective.