: Walmart’s stock pops premarket after earnings top consensus estimates

Walmart Inc.’s stock WMT rose 2% in premarket trade Thursday, after the retail giant posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart had net income of $7.891 billion, or $2.92 a share, for the quarter, up from $5.149 billion, or $1.88 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.84, well ahead of the $1.71 FactSet consensus. Revenue rose to $161.632 billion from $152.859 billion a year ago, also ahead of the $160.224 billion FactSet consensus. “Food is a strength, but we’re also encouraged by our results in general merchandise versus our expectations when we started the quarter,” Chief Executive Doug McMillon said in a statement. The company is now expecting third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.45 to $1.50 and sales growth of 4% to 4.5%. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of $1.49. For fiscal 2024, it expects adjusted EPS of $6.36 to $6.46 and sales to growth 4% to 4.5%. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of $6.30. The stock has gained 12.3% in the year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA has gained 5%.

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