Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, August 17, 2018

Article Excerpt

WALMART INC., $97.85, New York symbol WMT, is the world’s biggest retailer, with 11,200 outlets in 27 countries. The stock jumped 9% this week after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings and sales. It also increased its full-year outlook. In its fiscal 2019 second quarter, ended July 31, 2018, Walmart lost $861 million, or $0.29 a share. A year earlier, it earned $3.0 billion, or $0.96. However, the latest quarter included $4.9 billion in one-time charges, including a loss on the sale of the company’s Brazilian operations. If you exclude all unusual items, per-share earnings rose 17.6%, to $1.27 from $1.08. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $1.22. Sales in the quarter gained 3.8%, to $128.0 billion from $123.4 billion a year earlier. If you ignore the impact currency-rate changes had on Walmart’s international operations, sales rose 3.6%. Same-store sales for U.S. stores rose 4.5% on stronger customer traffic (up 2.2%) and higher selling prices (up 2.3%). As well, its U.S….