Topic: Growth Stocks

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, November 14, 2014

Article Excerpt

WAL-MART STORES INC., $82.96, New York symbol WMT, rose 5% this week after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. In the third quarter of its 2015 fiscal year, which ended October 31, 2014, Wal-Mart’s earnings fell 0.4%, to $3.71 billion from $3.73 billion a year earlier. However, earnings per share rose 0.9%, to $1.15 from $1.14, on fewer shares outstanding. That beat the consensus estimate of $1.12. Revenue rose 2.9%, to $119.0 billion from $115.7 billion, also exceeding the consensus forecast of $118.4 billion. If you disregard unfavourable currency rates, Wal-Mart’s sales would have risen 3.1% in the latest quarter. Sales at the company’s U.S. stores, which supply 59% of the total, rose 3.4%. Same-store gained 0.5%, which was the first increase since 2012. That’s mainly due to the success of the company’s smaller Neighborhood Markets stores, where same-store sales rose 5.5%. The international outlets (29% of total revenue) saw their sales rise 1.7%, while sales at the Sam’s Club warehouse stores (12%) gained 2.3%. Wal-Mart…