Walmart did note that its holiday sales were “a little softer than expected,” leading to a rare miss of its revenue and sales targets in its most recent quarter.
The retailer said its same-store sales in the United States grew 1.9 percent during the quarter ending January 31, which was lower than the 2.3 percent that Wall Street analysts had expected. The company’s adjusted earnings per share of $1.38 were less than the $1.43 it had forecast, while revenue was $141.7 billion, slightly less than Wall Street’s expectation of $142.5 billion.
The company blamed its disappointing results on political turmoil in Chile, as well as “softness” in a few general merchandise categories in its United States stores.
“Sales leading up to Christmas in our U.S. stores were a little softer than expected,” Doug McMillon, chief executive of Walmart, said in a statement.
The one bright spot in the quarter was record sales growth in e-commerce of 37 percent.
Walmart said late last month that its 430 stores in China have remained open during the health crisis because the retailer supplies food and other critical household staples. Store hours have been reduced, however, because many customers are subject to quarantines.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/business/walmart-coronavirus-earnings.html?emc=rss&partner=rss
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