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Walmart raised its guidance for the year and beat third-quarter revenue and profit forecasts as lingering inflation pushed wealthier consumers to its low-price products.
The world’s biggest retailer on Tuesday reported revenue of $169.6bn in the quarter, up 5.5 per cent year on year and almost $2bn higher than estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.
Operating income grew 8.2 per cent to $6.7bn, also surpassing consensus forecasts and the company’s previous guidance.
Walmart’s shares have gained almost 60 per cent this year compared with 24 per cent for the S&P 500 index, reflecting increasing confidence in its profit outlook.
Consumers hit by years of strong inflation have flocked to the low-cost retailer. Walmart said it gained market share in the third quarter across income strata, led by upper-income households.
The company raised its financial guidance for the second time this year and now projects net sales will increase by between 4.8 and 5.1 per cent in the 2025 fiscal year.
Walmart said adjusted operating income would rise by 8.5 to 9.25 per cent, adjusted for currency fluctuations, above guidance given at the start of the year.
US-based Walmart has about 4,600 namesake stores in the country. It boosted footfall earlier this year by cutting prices on thousands of items, prompting rivals such as Target to respond with their own discounts.
Same-store sales in the US rose 5.3 per cent, with the number of transactions excluding fuel climbing 3.1 per cent.
Among the biggest drivers of sales were food, where the number of units sold was the highest for four years, and pharmacy products, where Walmart pointed to a sales boost from GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
US ecommerce sales surged 22 per cent.
Sam’s Club, Walmart’s member-only warehouse chain, reported gains in its share of the grocery and general merchandise markets categories, including clothing and consumer electronics.
