Retail giant Wal-Mart $WMT on Thursday reported better than expected second-quarter earnings but issued cautious earnings guidance. Notable was its e-commerce sales jumped 60%.
Reaction: Wal-Mart Stores Inc NYSE: WMT Aug 17 morning 79.63 –1.35 (-1.67%)
Profit down 23% annually to $2.9 billion mainly to higher expenses, despite a 2.1% gain in revenues. Sales of Wal-Mart’s peers $TGT and $HD reported yesterday with both sales higher. $TGT 6% and $HD 2% respectively.

Walmart Segments
- US division Net sales advanced 3.3% YoY to $78.7Bil in 2Q18.
- Sales of Sam’s Club increased 2.3% to $14.9Bil,
- sales at Walmart International decreased 1% $28.3Bil.
- Comparable stores sales of Walmart US, with fuel, rose 1.9% in 2Q18, and comp sales of Sam’s Club gained 1.4%.

Guidance:
- Q3 EPS of 90-98 cents, below consensus 99 cents, and full-year EPS of $4.30-$4.40, with the midpoint below consensus of $4.37.
- Q3 Walmart U.S. same-store sales up 1.5%-2.0%,
- Q3 Sam’s Club comps up 1%-1.5%.
“Our customers are responding to the improvements in stores and online, and our results reflect this,” said CEO Doug McMillon in a statement. “Traffic increases at store level and the e-commerce growth rate are key highlights.”
Source: WalMart, AlphaStreet
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