Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, May 16, 2025

Article Excerpt

WALMART INC., $98.24, New York symbol WMT, remains a buy. The company is the world’s biggest retailer, with 10,784 outlets in 19 countries. Walmart reported strong-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter. However, concerns that upcoming price hikes in response to tariffs caused the stock to fall 5%. In the fiscal 2026 first quarter, ended April 30, 2025, sales rose 2.5%, to $165.61 billion from $161.51 billion a year earlier. That missed the consensus forecast of $165.84 billion. Thanks to stronger demand for groceries, health and beauty products, and seasonal goods, Walmart’s U.S. same-store sales (including online) rose 4.5%. That was due to a higher number of transactions (up 1.6%) and higher spending per transaction (up 2.8%). As well, global online sales improved 22% while advertising revenue jumped 50% following the recent acquisition of TV-set maker Vizio and its advertising platform. If you factor out gains and losses on investments and other unusual items, earnings per share rose 1.7%, to $0.61 from $0.60. That topped the…