Walmart Posts Strong Holiday Sales Gains in U.S.

By Sarah Nassauer 

Walmart Inc.'s profit and sales rose over the winter holidays, a sign that the retail giant lured shoppers from rivals and that Americans continued to spend freely amid mixed economic signals.

In the U.S., the company's comparable sales, which exclude gas but include digital sales, rose 4.2% in the January-ended quarter, adding to a string of positive quarterly sales for Walmart as it invests to grow online.

Sales got a boost from Walmart's push into grocery delivery, investments to lower prices as well as strong sales of holiday purchases including toys.

Walmart had said it expected quarterly U.S. comparable sales to rise at least 3% from a year earlier. In the latest quarter, the company got a lift from the U.S. government sending February checks to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients in January to ensure payment ahead of the federal government shutdown. The company said the shift added 0.4% to its comp sales growth.

The results were mostly better than Wall Street had expected and the company reiterated its financial forecasts for fiscal 2020. Shares of Walmart gained about 5% to $104.69 in premarket trading Tuesday.

For the full fiscal year, Walmart's U.S. e-commerce sales increased 40%, hitting the company's expectations for a small but key part of its business. The growth has been driven by the expansion of online grocery pickup services to over 2,100 of Walmart's 4,600 U.S. stores this fiscal year.

When customers buy online, then pick up in store parking lots, those sales get counted as online sales. Walmart has previously said U.S. e-commerce growth will slow to 35% this fiscal year.

"Progress on initiatives to accelerate growth, along with a favorable economic environment, helped us deliver strong comp sales and gain market share," said Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon in a release.

Overall, Walmart reported a quarterly profit of $3.69 billion, or $1.27 per share, compared with $2.18 billion, a year ago. The latest period included a 17 cent charge related to tax provisions.

Total revenue, including the Sam's Club chain and Walmart's overseas business, was $138.8 billion, up 1.9% from a year ago. Excluding currency swings, Walmart said total revenue rose 3.1% to $140.5 billion.

Write to Sarah Nassauer at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2019 08:06 ET (13:06 GMT)

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