Walmart earnings beat estimates, but company offers cautious outlook amid 'somewhat unstable' backdrop

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Walmart earnings beat estimates, but company offers cautious outlook amid 'somewhat unstable' backdrop.

companies :: 12hrs ago :: source - yahoo finance

By Brooke DiPalma

Walmart (WMT) posted quarterly earnings on Thursday morning that slightly beat Wall Street's estimates, giving a readout on the key holiday shopping season in its first report under new CEO John Furner.

The retailer, whose market cap recently eclipsed $1 trillion for the first time, reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.74 in the period, the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2026. That was a touch higher than the Street forecast of $0.73, per Bloomberg consensus data.

Revenue increased 5.6% to $190.7 billion, basically in line with Wall Street's predictions of $190.6 billion.

For fiscal year 2026, Walmart posted results slightly above estimates. Revenue came in at $715.9 billion and, not including currency exchange rates, was in line with estimates at $713.2 billion compared to Wall Street's forecast of $713 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.64, which was $0.01 higher than expected. Last year, Amazon (AMZN) surpassed Walmart in annual revenue for the first time, with total sales coming in at $717 billion.

Walmart stock was up 1% in Thursday's premarket trade. The stock is up more than 13% year to date.

Investors will likely take a second look at Walmart's somewhat conservative guidance.

For the first quarter, the company expects revenue to grow 3.5%-4.5% and adjusted per-share earnings to tally $0.63-$0.65. That outlook undershoots the 5% growth and adjusted earnings of $0.69 that Wall Street expected.

For fiscal year 2027, the retail giant expects revenue to increase by 3.5%-4.5%, alongside adjusted earnings of $2.75-$2.85. That's also conservative compared with the nearly 5% growth Wall Street predicted, alongside adjusted earnings of $2.97 per share.

CFO John David Rainey told investors on the call, "Our goal is to outperform this guidance, but we believe it's prudent to start the year with a level of conservatism given the backdrop is still somewhat unstable."

While Rainey said "nothing" is different when it comes to consumer behavior or the macroeconomic backdrop, he flagged indicators such as a hiring slowdown, poor consumer sentiment, and other debt burdens like student loans that could weigh on results.

He also hinted at potential increases to guidance throughout the year, noting that Walmart has raised its guidance each year over the past three years.

In its US business, quarterly same-store sales grew 4.6%, slightly higher than estimates of 4.3%. The growth was driven by e-commerce strength, higher ticket sizes, and a larger-than-expected 2.6% uptick in transactions.

Furner said the company again gained share "from households making more than $100,000" as they turn to the retailer for their groceries and even for fashion and other needs, with general merchandise sales up by low single digits for Walmart US.

He added, "For households earning below $50,000, we continue to see that wallets are stretched and in some cases, people are managing spending paycheck to paycheck."

As e-commerce sales jumped 27% for its US business, Furner said convenience is just as important as price. Those results beat the 19.8% increase expected and only a small moderation from the 28% growth seen in the third quarter.

Walmart said the rise was driven by store-fulfilled pickup and delivery, advertising, and its marketplace, with sales through "expedited store-fulfilled delivery channels" up more than 50% in the quarter.

Walmart's wholesale retailer, Sam's Club, saw sales grow 4% in the fourth quarter, slightly less than Wall Street's expected 4.4% rise. Transaction count was higher as consumers turned to the chain for grocery and general merchandise, but consumers spent less per trip.

Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.