Shares of Walmart (WMT) fell more than 4% to lead the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower Thursday after the giant retailer posted a quarterly profit that missed expectations.
The Bentonville, Ark.-based firm reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.68 for the second quarter, below the $0.73 analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha called for. Revenue grew nearly 5% year-over-year to $177.40 billion, ahead of the $175.97 billion consensus.
U.S. comparable sales growth came in at 4.3%, above the 4.1% projection. Global eCommerce sales rose 25%, “led by store-fulfilled pickup & delivery and marketplace,” while analysts were looking for 17.2% growth.
However, operating income fell more than 8%, “affected by discrete legal and restructuring items,” Walmart said, and CFO John David Rainey told CNBC that “tariff-impacted costs are continuing to drift upwards.”
Walmart Lifts Full-Year Revenue, Profit Projections
Walmart raised its full-year forecasts for revenue growth and adjusted EPS, to 3.75% to 4.75% and $2.52 to $2.62, respectively. For the current quarter, it sees revenue growth of 3.75% to 4.75% and adjusted EPS of $0.58 to $0.60, both above consensus estimates.
Walmart shares had entered Thursday up close to 14% this year at $102.57, with all 12 of the analysts tracked by Visible Alpha with recent assessments recommending buying them.
“Net-net, we see some potential small pressure on the shares but the report in no way fundamentally alters the bull case, in our view,” JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note.
UPDATE—This article has been updated with a quote from Walmart CFO John David Rainey and the latest share price information.