Walmart beats estimates on Q1 earnings but misses on revenue

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) surpassed market expectations on earnings for the first quarter of 2020 but revenues missed the mark. Shares gained 1.7% in premarket hours on Thursday.

Total revenue rose 1% year-over-year to $123.9 billion, but fell short of the consensus estimate of $125 billion. On a constant currency basis, revenues grew 2.5%.

On a GAAP basis, consolidated net income attributable to Walmart grew 80% to $3.8 billion while EPS grew nearly 85% to $1.33, led by strength at Walmart US. Adjusted EPS was $1.13, ahead of the forecast of $1.02.

Walmart US comp sales grew 3.4%, marking the fourth consecutive quarter above 3%. Walmart US e-commerce sales increased 37%, driven by strength in online grocery as well as the home and fashion categories.    

Net sales at Walmart US increased 3.3% year-over-year to $80.3 billion. Transactions grew 1.1% while growth in average ticket was 2.3%. Walmart had around 2,450 grocery pickup locations, nearly 1,000 stores with grocery delivery and more than 900 pickup towers at the end of the first quarter.

Net sales at Walmart International fell 4.9% to $28.8 billion, but grew 1.2% on a constant currency basis. The company had positive comp sales in three of its four largest markets – Mexico, China and Canada. In the UK, comps were negative as a result of the timing of Easter.

Net sales at Sam’s Club grew 1.5% to $13.8 billion. Comp sales grew only 0.3% compared to a growth of 3.8% last year, hurt by a drop in tobacco sales. Transactions were up 4.7% while average ticket was down 4.4%. E-commerce sales increased approx. 28%.

As part of its efforts to compete with Amazon (NYSE: AMZN), Walmart launched free next-day delivery from Walmart.com and has plans to reach 75% of the US population by the end of this year. The company also introduced its first online pet pharmacy, Walmartpetrx.com during the quarter.

Get access to timely and accurate verbatim transcripts that are published within hours of the event.