Wal-Mart Beats Analysts’ Earnings Estimates, Same-Store-Sales Up (WMT)

PUBLISHED: 16 Aug 2012 @ 15:04 | Comments (0) | More info about Ed Liston

World’s largest retail chain, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings but warned that full-year earnings could fall short of analysts’ estimations as consumers are still unwilling to spend amid economic slowdown.

For the second quarter, the company’s earnings stood at $1.18 a share, up from $1.09 a share reported in the year earlier quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecasted earnings of $1.17 a share.

Wal-Mart’s consolidated net sales increased by 4.5% to $ 113.53 billion.

Same-store-sales in the U.S. market rose by 2.2%, beating Street estimates of a 2.1% growth.

In international markets as well, same-store-sales climbed up including in its Sam’s Club warehouse chain.

For the current quarter, the company is expecting growth in same-store-sales to be between 1% and 3%. In the year earlier quarter, same-store-sales increased by 1.3%.

Nonetheless, amid rising global economic uncertainty and falling consumer spending, the company has now downwardly revised its both lower and upper range of full-year earnings estimates to $4.83 to $4.93 a share from earlier $4.72 to $4.92 a share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are expecting full-year earnings at $4.93 a share.

WMT stock is down more than 2% in early trading.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR FREE ON ADVFN, the world's leading stocks and shares information website, provides the private investor with all the latest high-tech trading tools and includes live price data streaming, stock quotes and the option to access 'Level 2' data on all of the world's key exchanges (LSE, NYSE, NASDAQ, Euronext etc).

This area of the ADVFN.com site is for independent financial commentary. These blogs are provided by independent authors via a common carrier platform and do not represent the opinions of ADVFN Plc. ADVFN Plc does not monitor, approve, endorse or exert editorial control over these articles and does not therefore accept responsibility for or make any warranties in connection with or recommend that you or any third party rely on such information. The information available at ADVFN.com is for your general information and use and is not intended to address your particular requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by ADVFN.COM and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining from making) any investment decisions. Authors may or may not have positions in stocks that they are discussing but it should be considered very likely that their opinions are aligned with their trading and that they hold positions in companies, forex, commodities and other instruments they discuss.