A sign with the Walmart logo is seen outside a Walmart store in Selinsgrove.
Paul Tisserand | SOPA Images | Light flare | Getty Images
Walmart will release its third-quarter financial results before the bell on Thursday and provide the latest information on consumer spending as the retail sector heads into the holiday season.
Here’s what Wall Street expects for the company’s fiscal third quarter, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 60 cents expected
- Income: $177.43 billion expected
The retail giant, which attracts shoppers based on income, is well-positioned to provide insight into the health of U.S. consumers and the impact of near-term factors that may have influenced the quarter. As the nation’s largest grocer, it has many shoppers who take advantage of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits, formerly known as food stamps. Recipients stopped receiving this assistance during the extended government shutdown.
Walmart has gained more high-income customers as even affluent households seek relief from higher grocery bills and respond to store renovations and faster deliveries. And it can influence consumer behavior across categories, since it sells discretionary items like makeup and clothing as well as daily necessities like milk and toilet paper.
Walmart raised its full-year sales and profit forecast in August. At the time, the retailer said it expected net sales to increase between 3.75% and 4.75% for the fiscal year and adjusted earnings per share to be between $2.52 and $2.62.
Last August, Walmart CFO John David Rainey told CNBC that the big-box retailer hadn’t noticed significant changes in consumer behavior, saying at the time that shoppers “continue to be very resilient.”
Walmart’s financial results Thursday will follow cautious updates from Target, Home deposit And Lowes. All three retailers lowered their full-year profit outlook this week and cited consumers hesitant to make big purchases and hungry for bargains. Parent company of TJ Maxx and Marshalls TJXElsewhere, upgraded its full-year forecast, saying it’s off to a “strong start” to the holidays as it caters to value-conscious shoppers.
Walmart’s earnings report will be the first since the Arkansas-based big-box retailer announced a leadership change. Walmart announced last week that John Furner, CEO of Walmart’s U.S. business, would succeed longtime CEO Doug McMillon on February 1.
McMillon’s tenure was marked by sharp inventory surges and growth in e-commerce. During his years as CEO, Walmart shares rose more than 300%.