Walmart defied supply chain disruptions, wage increases in input costs with stronger-than-expected holiday quarter earnings and a modest dividend boost.
Walmart (WMT) – Get Walmart Inc. Report posted stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings Thursday, including record U.S. revenues, as the world’s biggest retailer continues to manage supply chain disruptions and wage pressures without a meaningful increase in overall prices.
Walmart said adjusted earnings for the three months ended in December came in at $1.53 per share, rising 4.8% from the same period last year and just ahead of the Street consensus forecast of $1.50 per share.
Group revenues, the company said, were tabbed at $152.9 billion, a 0.5% increase from last year that topped analysts’ estimates of $151.6 billion. U.S. same-store sales rose 6.3% from last year, the company said, modestly ahead of the Refinitiv forecast. U.S. sales, in fact, topped $100 billion for the first time on record.
Looking into the 2023 financial year, Walmart said it sees net sales rising by around 3%, with earnings growth in the ‘mid-single-digit’ range. Walmart also raised its quarterly dividend by 1 penny, to 56 cents per share, and sees a $2.24 payout for the fiscal year.
“We had another strong quarter to finish off a strong year. We have momentum in our business in all three segments,” said CEO Doug McMillon. “We’re being aggressive with our plans and executing on the strategy.”
‘It’s exciting to see how the teams are simultaneously navigating today’s challenges and reshaping our business,” he added.
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Walmart shares were marked 3.7% higher in pre-market trading immediately following the earnings release to indicate an opening bell price of $138.47 each.
U.S. consumers appeared more pinched by inflation pressures — which were running at the fastest pace in forty years by the end of last year — over the holiday period than they are now, with the Commerce Department noting Wednesday that December retail sales fell 2.5% before rebounding by a much stronger-than-expected 3.8% over the month of January.
U.S. inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in four decades last month, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated earlier this month, with underlying figures showing no signs of near-term relief for pinched American consumers.
The headline consumer price index for the month of January was estimated to have risen 7.5% from last year, up from the 7% pace in December and the fastest rate since June of 1982, powered largely by airfares and rental costs. On a monthly basis, inflation was up 0.6%, the BLS said, with both tallies topping Wall Street forecasts.
