Walmart earnings preview: Keep an eye on online sales growth

Walmart (WMT) is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings results before the opening bell on May 17, and all the eyes will be on how much the retailer is resistant towards the Amazon (AMZN) effect. In the previous earnings announcement, the company had reported an ominous decline in online sales from 50% in third quarter to just 23% in the fourth.

Walmart had earlier reassured investors that there will be an improvement in the online sales this year and that the company is willing to boost its expenditure to achieve the growth targets.

The retailer had projected online sales growth of nearly 40% in 2018, and the first quarter results will reveal any hints at whether it will be able to achieve this goal.

In the first quarter, Walmart estimates EPS of $1.12 on sales of $120.4 billion. Sales is expected to grow 2.5% year-over-year driven by its home market, which is predicted to contribute about $77.8 billion.

For the past three months, the retail company’s stock has been down 18.3% and year-to-date the shares have been down 14.5%.

Other major retailers reporting their earnings this week include Macy’s (M), JC Penney (JCP), and Nordstrom (JWN).