Walmart -3% premarket after Q4 earnings: EPS $0.74 vs $0.73 est., rev $190.7B vs $190.6B est., FY27 sales growth 3.5% to 4.5% vs 5% est.

Summary:

• Underwhelming earnings beat: EPS and revenue just slightly above estimates
• Poor guidance:: FY27 sales growth below Street expectations

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/walmart-modestly-beats-fourth-quarter-estimates-but-posts-cautious-outlook-171641491.html

Walmart (WMT) posted quarterly earnings on Thursday morning that slightly beat Wall Street's estimates, giving a readout on the key holiday shopping season in its first report under new CEO John Furner.

The retailer, whose market cap recently eclipsed $1 trillion for the first time, reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.74 in the period, its fiscal Q4 2026. That was a touch higher than the Street forecast of $0.73, per Bloomberg consensus data.

Revenue increased 5.6% to $190.7 billion, basically in line with Wall Street's predictions of $190.6 billion.

For fiscal year 2026, Walmart posted results that were also slightly above estimates. Revenue came in at $715.9 billion, above the nearly $713 billion Wall Street forecast, whereas adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.64, a cent higher than expected.

Shares of Walmart were nearly 3% lower in Thursday's premarket trade. The stock is up more than 13% year to date.

Investors will likely take a second look at Walmart's somewhat conservative guidance.

For the first quarter, the company expects revenue to grow in the range of 3.5% to 4.5%, alongside adjusted per-share earnings of $0.63 and $0.65. That fiscal Q1 2027 outlook undershoots the 5% growth and adjusted earnings of $0.69 each that Wall Street expected.

For fiscal year 2027, the retail giant expects revenue to increase in the range of 3.5% to 4.5%, alongside adjusted earnings of $2.75 to $2.85. That's also conservative compared with the nearly 5% growth Wall Street predicted, alongside adjusted earnings of $2.97 a share.

That guidance is "subject to substantial uncertainty" linked to changes in global economic and geopolitical conditions, tariff and trade policies, customer demand and spending, inflation, interest rates, and world events, Walmart said in its release.

US quarterly sales post modest beat

In its US business, quarterly same-store sales grew 4.6%, slightly higher than estimates of 4.3%. The growth was driven by e-commerce strength, higher ticket sizes, and a larger-than-expected 2.6% uptick in transactions.

E-commerce sales jumped 27% for its US business, topping the 19.8% increase expected, and only a small moderation from the 28% growth seen in the third quarter. Walmart said the rise was driven by store-fulfilled pickup and delivery, advertising, and its marketplace, with sales through "expedited store-fulfilled delivery channels" up more than 50% in the quarter.

"The pace of change in retail is accelerating," CEO John Furner said in Walmart's release. "Our financial results show that we’re not only embracing this change, we’re leading it. For our customers and members, the future is fast, convenient, and personalized."

Walmart's wholesale retailer, Sam's Club, saw sales grow slightly less than expected, up 4%. Wall Street expected a 4.4% rise in the fourth quarter. Transaction count was higher as consumers turned to the chain for grocery and general merchandise, but consumers spent less per each trip.

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