Walmart is set to report its second-quarter results before the market opens Thursday. Here is what you need to know.
NET INCOME: Analysts polled by FactSet expect net income of $5.9 billion, down from $7.02 billion the year before.
ADJUSTED EARNINGS: Stripping out one-time items, Walmart is projected to report earnings of 74 cents a share, up from 68 cents a share the year prior.
SALES: Quarterly sales are forecast to come in at $186.62 billion, up from $177.4 billion in the year-ago period.
COMPARABLE SALES: Wall Street anticipates same-store sales growth of 3.8%, compared with a 4.6% increase last year.
Walmart's stock is down nearly 14% over the past three months and was recently trading hands at $115.74.
WHAT TO WATCH
-- Indicators have been mixed heading into Walmart's 2Q earnings report, Davidson analysts said. They cite point-of-sale data that show a deceleration from last quarter, coupled with overall retail sales for general merchandise stores showing an acceleration to the highest growth rate in more than three years. "We are looking for another quarter of comps in the low 4% range," the analysts said, noting their forecast is slightly ahead of Wall Street models.
-- Investors will be looking for updates on Walmart's membership program, a key component of its digital flywheel, which analysts have said looks poised for continued growth. Morgan Stanley analysts said they expect the program to scale to about 55 million members by 2035, more than doubling from roughly 21 million members this year. The increase should also expand Walmart's commerce, marketplace and advertising opportunity, given Walmart+ members spend about four times more and make roughly seven times as many e-commerce visits as non-members, creating more purchase occasions, richer first-party data and an opportunity to capture share of consumers' wallets, the analysts said.
-- Walmart said last quarter that shoppers filled their tanks with an average of less than 10 gallons per trip at its gas stations for the first time since 2022. "That's an indication of stress," Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told the Journal. "The headline consumer is reasonably healthy, but when you look underneath, the pressure is uneven." Investors will be looking for any insights into the health of consumers, as shoppers continue to feel stressed amid an uncertain economic environment.
