Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart updated its FY 2027 guidance to 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance to 0.720-0.740 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Walmart’s conference call:

• Walmart beat Q1 expectations, with constant-currency sales up nearly 6% and e-commerce growing 26%, while management reiterated full-year guidance and said sales growth is tracking toward the upper end of the range.
• Traffic and transaction growth accelerated in both Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club, supported by everyday low prices, roughly 7,200 rollbacks, and strong general merchandise performance, especially fashion and beauty.
• Higher-margin businesses are scaling quickly: advertising grew more than 30% enterprise-wide, membership fee revenue rose 17%, and marketplace sales in the U.S. grew nearly 50%, helping improve the company’s profit mix.
• Delivery speed and AI capabilities continue to expand, with more than 60% of U.S. households now reachable in 30 minutes or less and Sparky usage surging, which management says is boosting order values and customer engagement.
• Fuel costs remain a meaningful headwind, reducing Q1 operating income by about $175 million, and management warned that if elevated fuel prices persist, retail price inflation could rise in the second quarter and second half.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $124.83 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $126.91 and a 200-day moving average of $119.89. Walmart has a one year low of $93.43 and a one year high of $135.15. The company has a market cap of $994.98 billion, a PE ratio of 45.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total transaction of $2,555,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 486,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,203,571.56. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.77, for a total value of $167,212.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 635,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,023,275.61. This trade represents a 0.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 154,065 shares of company stock worth $19,281,401 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,990,692 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,575,541,000 after buying an additional 93,459 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Walmart by 20.5% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,413,236,000 after acquiring an additional 4,004,277 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,602,359 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,738,321,000 after purchasing an additional 114,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,373,333 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,378,513,000 after purchasing an additional 710,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted first-quarter revenue of about $177.8 billion, above estimates, while EPS of $0.66 matched expectations, showing the core business remains resilient. Walmart press release
• Positive Sentiment: Growth in e-commerce, advertising, and membership fees suggests Walmart’s higher-margin businesses are continuing to scale and support longer-term earnings power. Walmart revenue growth article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts had already been raising price targets ahead of earnings, reflecting optimism about Walmart’s scale, omnichannel strength, and defensive appeal in a softer consumer environment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Same-store and sales trends were generally healthy, with grocery and online demand helping offset more cautious discretionary spending by shoppers.
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s second-quarter guidance came in below Wall Street expectations, and its full-year EPS and revenue outlook also missed consensus, which is the main reason the stock is falling. Walmart falls on guidance despite beating revenue estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s cautious outlook appears tied to high gas prices and pressure on U.S. consumers, raising concerns that spending could weaken in the coming quarters.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. HSBC cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $138.88.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.