The latest disclosures by Wal-Mart show that the company received $187.79 billion for the second quarter, which was higher than market expectations and higher than the same period the previous year. However, investors are more concerned about the slowdown in sales of their core business in the United States, a factor that overwhelms expectations of higher revenues.
U.S. Commissary Sales Lower than Expected
At the time, United States co-shop sales grew by 2.6 per cent, lower than Wall Street expected and at the slowest quarterly rate in almost six years. This increase could amount to 3.4 per cent if the downward adjustment in the prices of the pharmacies were excluded.
The more detailed data also indicate a cautious trend in consumption. The growth in the flow of customers at the door slowed from 3 per cent in the previous quarter to 1.5 per cent, while the average expenditure on single transactions increased by only 1.1 per cent, compared to 3.1 per cent during the same period of the previous year.
The stock price fell by 9% a day.
As a result of sales data, Wal-Mart stock prices fell by 10 per cent on a Thursday, touching a 9-month low of 102.85 dollars, and the collection fell by more than 9 per cent. This fall wiped out the company's market value of over $80 billion and became its largest single-day decline since May 2022.
According to John David Rainey, the company's chief finance officer, the price increase in gasoline is forcing some consumers to reschedule their expenditures. Wal-Mart expects that the additional fuel-related costs this year will exceed $2 billion.
Planned reduction of 11 million commodity prices
In response to consumption pressures, Wal-Mart plans to reduce prices for about 11 million commodities, partially financed by tariff refunds of about $2.9 billion. Management stated that the impact of price reductions would be more evident in the third financial season.
Despite short-term sales underage, the company increased its net sales growth for the fiscal year 2027, with the most recent increase of 4 to 5 per cent, compared to 3.5 to 4.5 per cent. The adjusted income per share is also expected to increase to $2.80 to $2.87.
Additional information:The company disclosed that the adjusted income per share for the second financial season was $0.81, which was higher than the market ' s previous general expectation of revenue collection, but did not offset investors ' concerns about the slowdown in United States consumption.