Shares of Walmart Inc. WMT climbed 1.4% in premarket trading Thursday, after the discount retail giant reported fiscal first-quarter results beat expectations and raised its full-year profit outlook, but provided a second-quarter view that was below forecasts. Net income for the quarter to April 30 fell to $1.67 billion, or 62 cents a share, from $2.05 billion, or 74 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.47 topped the FactSet consensus of $1.32. Revenue grew 7.6% to $152.30 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $148.94 billion, as Walmart U.S. sales increased 7.2%, Sam’s Club sales rose 4.5%. The company said Walmart U.S. gained market share in grocery, including higher-income households, while inventory declined 9%. Same-store sales for Walmart U.S. rose 7.4%, beating the FactSet consensus of a 5.2% rise, as transactions grew 2.9% and the average ticket rose 4.4%. For Sam’s Club, same-store sales increased 7.0% to top expectations of 6.1% growth. “We had a strong quarter,” said Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon. “We leveraged expenses, expanded operating margin, and grew profit ahead of sales.” Looking ahead, the company expects second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.63 to $1.68, below expectations of $1.71, but raised the full-year guidance range to $6.10 to $6.20 from $5.90 to $6.05. The stock has gained 5.5% year to date through Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA has tacked on 0.8%.
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