NEW YORK – Walmart delivered another impressive quarter as the promise of lower prices and speedy deliveries attracted a broader spectrum of Americans from cash-strapped to wealthier households during the critical holiday shopping period.
The subdued outlook, offered Thursday, from the Bentonville, Arkansas, company, however, hinted at a volatile economic environment ahead.
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“Given that we are as large as we are and so tied to consumer health and the economy, we want to maintain maximum flexibility and not get out ahead of ourselves at this point in the year, ” Walmart's chief financial officer John David Rainey told investors during the earnings call.
He cited subdued consumer sentiment, a fragile job market and student loan delinquencies among other issues it's monitoring.
It is the first quarter in more than a decade that Walmart is reporting results under a new chief executive.
John Furner, 51, who headed the company’s U.S. operations, took over for Doug McMillon this month. McMillon had turned America’s largest retailer into a tech-powered giant and spearheaded an era of robust sales growth after being named Walmart’s CEO in 2014.
In January, Walmart changed up its c-suite, naming new leaders for Walmart U.S., Walmart international and its Sam’s Club business. Furner is expected to continue the sales momentum, while embracing technology like artificial intelligence in all aspects of its business including shopping.
Walmart’s shares 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 a $1 trillion. Shares rose about 1.5% in morning trading.
Walmart has done so with many Americans carefully considering where they spend money because of inflation and how the company performs is considered a barometer of consumer spending given its vast customer base. More than 150 million customers are on its website or in its stores every week, according to Walmart.
While inflation has cooled, consumer prices have soared about 25% over the past five years. Many economists expect more companies will begin passing on higher costs from higher U.S. tariffs to their customers in coming months.
Walmart’s promise of lower prices, improved merchandise and faster delivery has broadened its base to include wealthier shoppers in that environment, with the biggest gains in market share coming from households with annual income over $100,000. That has happened as lower-income shoppers have become more restrained, reflecting what economists call a K-shaped economy phenomenon.
Furner said shoppers overall remain resilient, but customers with household income below $50,000 are under financial strain.
“We continue to see (their) wallets are stretched, and in some cases, people are managing spending paycheck to paycheck,” he said during a conference call. “That said, even these households are emphasizing convenience nearly as much as price.”
Walmart has managed higher costs from President Donald Trump's tariffs by shifting what it offers on store shelves while absorbing some higher costs and diversifying sourcing.
Rainey told The Associated Press during a phone call Thursday that for the latest quarter, average prices for identical items at the retailer rose a little above 1%, with prices for food up a little less than that and general merchandise inflation was up more than 3%. Managing costs for general merchandise items like TVs and vacuum cleaners has been more challenging since most are foreign imports, he said.
Still, Rainey acknowledged that he had a lot more trepidation nine months ago when tariffs were just starting to hit, but he said the company has done a good job in minimizing the impact to the consumer.
“I think the team just executed really well to try to minimize the cost impact on customers, ”he told The AP.
Walmart is closely monitoring the Supreme Court decision on Trump's tariffs, but he said even if the court doesn't side with Trump and the administration pursues other avenues to impose tariffs, he believes duties won't go much higher than they are now.
Walmart reported fourth-quarter earnings of $4.24 billion, or 53 cents per share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31. Adjusted per-share results were 74 cents, a penny better than Wall Street expected, according to FactSet.
Last year, the company reported net income of $5.25 billion, or 65 cents per share.
Sales rose 5.6% to $190.7 billion from $180.6 billion, also edging out expectations.
Comparable sales at Walmart stores, including online sales, rose 4.6% after a 4.5% increase in the previous quarter. Sales were broadly stronger, particularly groceries, which have been an enormous generator of traffic for Walmart, the company said. It cited fashion as a bright spot, too.
And Walmart said speedier deliveries helped fuel the sales momentum, with expedited deliveries under three hours accounting for 35% of orders from stores.
U.S. e-commerce business increased 27% during the quarter, accounting for 23% of overall sales. Global e-commerce sales rose 24%.
Walmart said that for the current quarter, it expects sales to increase anywhere from 3.5% to 4.5% and earnings per share to be in the range of 63 cents to 65 cents. For the year, it expects sales to reach $706.4 billion and earnings per share to be $2.64.
That is a little cooler than Wall Street had been projecting. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting per-share earnings of 68 cents in the first quarter. For the year, they have been projecting earnings of $2.64 per share on sales of $712.6 billion.