There was a time not too long ago when it seemed that Wal-Mart was going to dominate the retail landscape for the foreseeable future. Wal-Mart had the scale, the infrastructure, the buying power, and a dominant brand. CNBC even produced a 90-minute documentary on the company.
Today, it seems Amazon has dislodged Wal-Mart as most-admired in the retail space. Amazon is dominant in online retail. It has the infrastructure, the scale, and the buying power to succeed.
Nobody can catch Amazon in online retail, right?
Maybe, but that isn’t stopping Wal-Mart from trying. The traditionally brick and mortar retailer just reported a 29% increase in online sales. Wal-Mart is the second largest online retailer in America. Below are highlights of Wal-Mart’s results.
- Diluted EPS was $1.22, which includes the impact of the discrete items detailed in this press release. Excluding these items1, EPS was $1.30.
- Total revenue was $130.9 billion, an increase of 1.0%. Excluding currency1 , total revenue was $133.6 billion, an increase of 3.0%.
- Walmart U.S. comp sales increased 1.8%, driven by a traffic increase of 1.4%. Neighborhood Market comps increased approximately 5.3%.
- E-commerce growth at Walmart U.S. was strong as sales and GMV increased 29.0% and 36.1%, respectively, including Jet.com and online grocery.
- Net sales at Walmart International were $31.0 billion, a decrease of 5.1%. Excluding currency1 , net sales were $33.7 billion, an increase of 3.0%.
- The company generated $11.9 billion in operating cash flow and returned $3.6 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
Walmart wants to give Amazon a run for its money
Jeremy Jones, CFA
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