Walmart Falls After Cutting Earnings Guidance Due to Inflation
2022.05.17 14:13
By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com — Walmart (NYSE:WMT) stock fell in premarket after the U.S.’s biggest retailer missed quarterly earnings forecast by a wide margin and warned that inflation will eat into its profits over the rest of the year.
Walmart said adjusted earnings per share were $1.30 in the three months ended in April, well below a consensus forecast of $1.48. That was despite the fact that it sold more goods than expected: revenue came in at $141.6 billion rather than the $139.1 billion forecast.
The company said that pattern will persist throughout the year: it raised its guidance for annual sales but cut its profit forecast. It said it now expects full-year earnings to fall by around 1%, having guided for an increase of around 5% previously. But it sees currency-adjusted net sales rising by around 4%, up from a previous forecast of 3%.
Walmart stock was down 6.2% by 7:10 AM ET (1110 GMT), on course to open at its lowest level in two months.
