Wal-Mart Confirms It Will Close Nearly 270 Stores, 16K Employees To Be Affected

Shares of

were trading lower by nearly 2 percent ahead of Friday's opening bell following media reports that the company has closed stores in Brazil. Related Link:

8-K filing

in which the company confirmed it plans on closing a total of 269 stores and clubs which represent less than 1 percent of its global square footage and revenue. Wal-Mart noted that 75 percent of the impact relates to U.S. closings. The company will close 154 locations in the U.S., including the company's 102 smallest format stores, also known as Wal-Mart Express. Wal-Mart noted that it will focus on strengthening its Supercenters, optimizing Neighborhood Markets and grow its e-commerce segment while also expanding Pickup services for its customers. The remaining of Wal-Mart's store closures will occur in international markets with a "large majority" of closures to occur in Brazil. Wal-Mart further disclosed: "The financial impact of these closures is estimated to be approximately $0.20 to $0.22 of diluted earnings per share from continuing operations, with approximately $0.19 to $0.20 expected to impact the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016." "Actively managing our portfolio of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,"

Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future. It's important to remember that we'll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it."