New York (AP)-Walmart delivered a year of strong turnover and profit with its competitive prices an ever-strong magnet for inflation-requirements, but seems to come up with new challenges this year.
The prospects of the largest retailer in the country for 2025 are no less than 27 cents under analyst projections for income per share and for the quarter the expectations of Walmart are no less than 7 cents below Wall Street projections.
The sales prospects are also disappointing, potentially a reflection of increasing challenges that consumers return to expenditure and President Donald Trump Rates on China And Other countries Threat the low price model that is the core of Walmart’s success.
Shares tumbled by 7%.
Walmart is one of the first major American retailers to report quarterly financial results and figures can lead to the vote of the American shopper, in particular in the midst of new trade barriers that, according to most economists, are in danger of recovering inflation. In the past year, consumers have increasingly focused on supplies than on TVs, furniture or devices. They have become much more demanding about large ticket purchases due to higher costs for both credit and groceries.
That trend can accelerate If Americans are affected by a new wave of price increases, economists say, and with 70% of the American economy driven by consumers, a broad withdrawal into expenditure would have consequences that goes beyond the sale of Walmart.
Government data last week Sharp decrease in January in January While cold weather kept more Americans indoors. But it was a much larger decrease than economists expected and the largest in a year. Turnover was more revised for December, which may indicate a withdrawal by consumers after a release on the holiday season.
Nevertheless, supermarket prices, a painful point for American households, continued to rise.
Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, reported a profit of $ 5.25 billion, or 65 cents per share, ending in the quarter on January 31. That is compared to $ 5.49 billion or 68 cents per share, in the period from a year ago. Adapted profit per share for the most recent quarter was 66 cents.
Turnover increased by 4.1% to $ 180.55 billion in the quarter.
Analysts expected 65 cents per share on a turnover of $ 180.07 billion in the fourth quarter, according to FactSet.
For the American division of Walmart, comparable store sales – including online and stores that are opened in the last 12 months – rose 4.6% in the US, slightly lower than the 5.3% in the previous quarter. The retailer had a jump in 4.2% in the US in the second quarter and 3.8% in the first quarter.