Proactive Investors - Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT, ETR:WMT) shares kept rising Friday after the retail giant delivered a big quarterly earnings report that showed high-income shoppers return to the discount store.
Total revenue climbed by 6% to US$161.5 billion over the three months to April, Walmart revealed on Thursday, ahead of LSEG-polled analysts’ expectations for US$159.5 billion.
Adjusted earnings per share of US$0.60 also beat expectations for the figure to come in at US$0.52.
Analysts at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) were pleased with the company’s strong performance and positive outlook.
“Walmart continues to see momentum across all income cohorts (including lower) as its strong value offering (and high digital convenience) resonates, supporting grocery and general merchandise share gains, which continued to be led by higher incomes in fiscal 1Q,” analysts wrote in a note following its earnings.
US comparable sales were up 3.8% over the quarter, while operating income climbed by 13.7% to US$7.1 billion on an adjusted basis.
Bank of America anticipates continued gross margin expansion for Walmart, driven by higher-margin profit streams such as digital advertising, third-party marketplace, and fulfillment services. These contributions are expected to offset sales mix headwinds and support overall margin growth.
Shares of Walmart, which closed nearly 6% higher on Thursday, continued to climb on Friday morning, up another 0.5% at $64.30 in New York.