Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, May 22, 2020

Article Excerpt

WALMART INC., $124.33, New York symbol WMT, remains a buy. The company is the world’s biggest retailer, with 11,484 outlets in 27 countries. This week, Walmart reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, as the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders prompted consumers to stock up on food and other essential products. In its fiscal 2021 first quarter, ended April 30, 2020, the company’s sales rose 8.6%, to $134.62 billion from $123.93 billion a year earlier. That beat the consensus forecast of $130.9 billion. In addition to higher in-store sales, U.S. online sales jumped 74%. As a result, Walmart’s U.S. same-store sales rose 10.0%. That reflects a 16.5% jump in spending per visit, offset by a 5.6% decline in the number of transactions. The company spent around $900 million during the quarter on additional sanitizing and cleaning of its stores, as well as paying its employees higher wages. That’s why Walmart’s earnings rose at a slower rate of 3.9%, to $3.99 billion from $3.84 billion a year earlier. To…