Topic: Growth Stocks

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Thursday, May 20, 2016

Article Excerpt

WAL-MART STORES INC., $69.85, New York symbol WMT, has expanded its existing relationship with MCKESSON CORP., $182.29, New York symbol MCK. McKesson currently supplies prescription drugs to Wal-Mart’s in-store pharmacies in the U.S. Under this new deal, the two companies will team up to buy generic drugs in bulk. This will help Wal-Mart keep its pharmacy costs down. The long-term deal also cuts McKesson’s risk. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart sales in the quarter ended April 30, 2016, rose 0.9%, to $115.9 billion from $114.8 billion a year earlier. That beat the consensus forecast of $113.2 billion. If you exclude currency rate changes on the retailer’s international operations, sales rose 4.0% in the quarter. Same-store sales at its U.S. stores gained 1.0%, thanks to a 1.5% rise in customer traffic. Online sales jumped 7.0%. Earnings in the quarter fell 7.8%, to $3.1 billion from $3.3 billion. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share declined 4.9%, to $0.98 from $1.03. Even so, that beat the consensus estimate…