Walmart Earnings Are Coming. Here's What to Expect. - Barron's

Walmart Reports Earnings Tomorrow. Here’s What to Expect.

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Retail behemoth Walmart is scheduled to fiscal fourth-quarter financial results Tuesday before the market’s open.

Walmart stock (WMT) is up 7.3% this year through Friday’s close, at $99.99 per share, compared with a 9.5% gain for the S&P 500.

Here’s a snapshot of Wall Street’s expectations and some recent history.

•Wall Street is looking for quarterly earnings (for the period ended Jan. 25) of $1.33 per share, according to FactSet, on revenue of $138.76 billion and same-store sales growth of 3.2%.

•In November, Walmart reported full-year guidance that implied fourth-quarter EPS of $1.25-$1.35 using standard accounting methods, and $1.24-$1.34 without them. (It raised the range for GAAP earnings but lowered it for non-GAAP EPS.) Full-year U.S. same-store sales growth, excluding fuel, was estimated to be “at least 3%.”

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•In last year’s fourth quarter, the company reported EPS of 73 cents per share using standard accounting methods, or $1.33 without them, on revenue of $136.27 billion. Same-store sales were up 2.6% year-over-year.

•Walmart stock fell in the immediate wake of its third-quarter results even as it boosted full-year EPS guidance, as investors fretted over possible weakness in same-store sales and gross margins.

•Barron’s has recently covered a few analyst takes suggesting optimism about the months ahead for Walmart stock. In January, one analyst said efforts to snag wealthier customers from Amazon.com (AMZN) could pay off.

•Walmart stock is down 3.1% over the last 12 months. FactSet’s average analyst price target is about $106 per share.

A conference call with investors is scheduled for 8 a.m. E.T. on Tuesday.

Email David Marino-Nachison at david.marino-nachison@barrons.com. Follow him at @marinonachison and follow Barron’s Next at @barronsnext.

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