Wal-Mart Investors: Ask These Questions On April 1st

In a report published Wednesday, Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Trussell previewed

upcoming Investor Day scheduled for April 1. Trussell stated that expectations are "low" for new data points but investors will want to focus on the sustainability of improved low-income spending, initiatives in e-commerce fulfillment to be updated, Neighborhood Market rollout plans to be discussed and what strategies are being deployed to regain share in consumables. The analyst detailed his top 10 questions for Wal-Mart's management as follows: 1. How are comps running quarter to date? 2. Is the health of the low-end consumer strong enough to sustain discretionary spending? 3. How can Wal-Mart improve its food offering, especially in natural, organic and fresh? 4. Does management still think that $1 billion in price investment in food/consumables is the right level in order to stay competitive? Is the price gap to competitors where it ought to be? 5. What is the long-term potential for the small store format, in terms of store count as well as integration with the supercenters and ecommerce business? When can we expect the small store format to be accretive to margins (if ever)? If Wal-Mart is no longer "tethering" to supercenters, how will logistics work to efficiently supply smaller stores? 6. How can Wal-Mart improve the supercenter experience? What can be done to stem share loss to competitors? 7. What can we expect in terms of new initiatives to drive e-commerce sales? And how should we think about cost and margin impact? 8. How should we think about healthcare costs for Wal-Mart in 2015 and beyond? What can the company do to try and keep costs in check? 9. How do we think about the earnings per share hit from wages in 2016 given that the increase is a multi-step process? What is the expected benefit to sales and associate engagement/retention? 10. What is new Wal-Mart U.S. management including President and CEO Greg Foran bringing to the table? Shares of Wal-Mart are Hold rated with an $82 price target.