Walmart gets boost from higher earners as it posts strong quarterly results

Walmart on Thursday reported strong quarterly results, continuing to benefit from an increase in higher earners who were purchasing more groceries and discretionary items during the condensed holiday shopping period.The Arkansas-based retail giant continued to gain market share, especially from higher-income households as it added more than 150 key brands to its assortment over the past fiscal year and remodeled 650 stores. It remodeled 100 locations within the past three months.  The company behemoth reported U.S. revenue rising 4.1% to $180.6 billion for the fourth quarter, surpassing Wall Street expectations. Adjusted earnings per share of 65 cents also beat Wall Street estimates. Sales at U.S. stores rose 4.6% driven by strong growth in general merchandise. The increase in discretionary spending marks a reversal of the trend seen in recent years, when inflation squeezed household budgets and forced many shoppers to focus only on essential items. WALMART ROLLS BACK DEI POLICIES, BECOMING LATEST US FIRM TO JOIN GROWING TRENDShares of Walmart are up 81.5% over the past year, outpacing the industry’s growth of 75.6%, according to Mulberry.The company has been surpassing Wall Street expectations for consecutive quarters as it continued to grow both in-store and online traffic while consistently gaining higher-income households. CFO John David Rainey previously told FOX Business that the nation's largest retailer has been "upleveling" its brand and enhancing the looks of stores, which are key factors behind its appeal to higher-income shoppers. "Today's Walmart is very different than the Walmart of several years ago," Rainey said, adding that it has been making changes that "appeal to a much broader demographic than what we have historically." The company has also been doubling down on its grocery business as more consumers are turning to the company for their food needs amid lingering inflation. During the fourth quarter, Walmart also saw U.S. e-commerce sales rise 20%. Walmart expects sales to grow by 3% to 4% in the next fiscal year, with adjusted earnings also expected to be $2.50 to $2.60,Walmart is a key indicator of U.S. consumer health given the significant share of consumer spending the company captures. As the nation's largest employer, "any measurable negative revision to guidance is a warning about the economy," Brian Mulberry, Client Portfolio Manager at Zacks Investment Management, told FOX Business. HOW WALMART IS WINNING WITH HIGHER-INCOME SHOPPERSIn its third fiscal quarter, the company reported that its third-quarter revenue climbed more than 5% from the prior quarter to $169.6 billion, beating Wall Street's estimate of $167.72 billion. Adjusted earnings per share also beat Wall Street estimates by 5 cents.GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HEREIn the three-month period that ended Oct. 31, sales at U.S. stores jumped 5.3% due to "strength across merchandise categories and physical and digital channels," Walmart reported. The company also announced it had continued to "gain market share in the U.S., both in grocery and general merchandise," with households earning more than $100,000 accounting for 75% of its share gains. Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei FOX Business Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei FOX Business