MW Walmart sees slowing sales growth and warns of a profit miss, in contrast to rival Target
By Tomi Kilgore
Retail behemoth matched expectations for earnings in the previous quarter, but the current-quarter outlook is below Wall Street projections
Walmart's stock falls as investors express disappointment in the earnings outlook.
Shares of Walmart took a hit in early Thursday trading after the retail behemoth reported the slowest growth in a key sales metric in two years and provided a downbeat profit outlook for the current quarter.
Walmart's $(WMT)$ fiscal first-quarter earnings report came as a disappointment, particularly compared with those of rival Target (TGT). Released the day before, Target said sales surged, while raising its full-year growth outlook.
Walmart's report also comes after it noted in February that over the previous three years, it had raised its earnings guidance.
For the quarter to April 30, comparable sales for Walmart U.S. stores, or sales in stores open at least a year, rose 4.1% from a year ago, matching the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet, as the number of transactions was up 3% and the value of the average transaction increased 1.1%. That was down from a 4.6% rise in the previous quarter, and was the slowest year-over-year growth since the first quarter of 2024.
On Wednesday, Target reported comparable sales growth of 5.6%, the fastest growth in four years.
Walmart's stock slumped 2.6% in premarket trading, enough to pace the Dow Jones Industrial Average's DJIA early decliners.
For Walmart's membership-based warehouse retail business, Sam's Club, comparable sales grew 3.9%, beating the FactSet growth consensus of 3.3%, as transactions rose 6.2% but average ticket fell 2.2%.
Total revenue for the latest quarter rose 7.3% to $177.75 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $174.89 billion, boosted by a 37% jump in its advertising business, 26% growth in e-commerce sales and 17.4% rise in membership-fee revenue.
Net income was up 18.8% to $5.33 billion, while the adjusted earnings per share, which excludes nonrecurring items, of 66 cents matched the FactSet consensus.
Looking ahead, Walmart expects adjusted EPS for its second quarter of 72 cents to 74 cents, below the current FactSet consensus of 75 cents. The company maintained its full-year guidance range of $2.75 to $2.85.
On Wednesday, Target said it expected its full-year EPS to be at the high end of its previously provided guidance range.
Walmart's stock has rallied 17.5% in 2026 through Wednesday, while Target shares have run up 25.2% and the S&P 500 index SPX has gained 8.6%.
-Tomi Kilgore
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 21, 2026 08:29 ET (12:29 GMT)
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