The good times continue at Walmart (WMT) as inflation-weary shoppers continue to look for value.
On Tuesday, the world’s largest retailer posted third-quarter financial results that easily exceeded Wall Street expectations. Revenue of $169.59 billion exceeded analyst estimates of $167.5 billion. Adjusted earnings per share exceeded estimates by 5 cents to $0.58.
“We had a strong quarter and continued our momentum,” CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement. “In the US, in-store volumes grew, in-store pickup grew faster and in-store delivery grew even faster.”
Shares of Walmart rose more than 4% in premarket trading on Tuesday. The stock is up 60% year to date, outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s (^DJI) 15% gain.
Here’s what Walmart posted for its third-quarter fiscal 2025 results, compared to Bloomberg’s consensus estimates:
Gain: $169.59 billion versus $167.5 billion
Adjusted earnings per share: $0.58 vs. $0.53
Overall same-store sales growth: 5.5% vs. 3.81%
Walmart US same-store sales growth: 5.3% vs. 3.68%
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Traffic: 3.1% vs. 2.82%
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Ticket growth: 2.1% vs. 1.20%
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E-commerce growth: 22% vs 2.22%
Sam’s Club US same-store sales growth: 7.0% vs. 4.22%
Walmart US saw same-store sales increase 5.3%, driven by higher foot traffic, up 3.1%, and higher average ticket, up 2.1%. That compares with a 4.9% increase posted this time last year.
In the US, e-commerce sales rose 22%, while advertising unit Walmart Connect grew 26%. Membership income also saw a double-digit increase.
The retailer posted gains across all product categories and income cohorts, driven mainly by higher-income households.
Grocery category sales grew by mid-single digits as “food units reached their highest level in four years,” mainly driven by pantry items. Personal care products and household cleaning products also experienced sales growth. Private label penetration increased by 80 basis points, while doubling with new lines such as BetterGoods early this year.
Groceries make up about 60% of U.S. sales for Walmart.
Walmart indicated that momentum for the holiday shopping season continues.
The retail giant has raised its expectations for fiscal year 2025 for the third time.
Net sales are now expected to grow between 4.8% and 5.1%. Walmart previously targeted sales growth of 3.75% to 4.75%. Before the start of the year, Walmart had expected sales growth of 3.0% to 4.0%.
Adjusted operating income is expected to grow 8.5% to 9.25%, compared to previous expectations of 6.5% to 8.0%.
