Walmart’s promise of low prices lured shoppers in 3rd quarter

globalnews.ca:

Walmart ratcheted up sales and profits again in the third quarter with its comparatively low prices proving a powerful draw for shoppers seeking to cut spending where they could.

The nation’s largest retailer raised its outlook for the year as well and shares rose nearly 4% in premarket trading Tuesday.

Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, reported net income of $4.58 billion, or 57 cents per share, in the three months ended Oct. 31. That compares with $453 billion, or 6 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Adjusted earnings were 58 cents per share, five cents better than Wall Street had expected, according to a survey by FactSet.

Sales rose 5.5% to $169.59 billion, up from $160.8 billion in the year-ago period, and also easily beat analyst projections.

Comparable store sales — which include online and stores open for the past 12 months — rose 5.3% in the U.S. That is an acceleration from the 4.2% jump in the U.S. in the second quarter and 3.8% in the first quarter.

Sales reflect broad-based strength across all product categories and physical and digital channels, the company said.

Global e-commerce sales rose 27%, compared with 21% in the fiscal second and first quarter.

Walmart is among the first major U.S. retailers to report quarterly results and provides a peek into how Americans are feeling as they head into the holiday shopping season. Industry analysts expect consumers to show up in force, though sales may not meet last year spending levels by Americans.

A post-pandemic inflation spike sent prices about 20% higher overall compared with three years ago and it soured Americans’ outlook on the economy, a key reason given by voters for sending Donald Trump back to the White House.

Yet even as many complained