Wal-Mart Plunges 5% Following Q4 Report

by Jayson Derrick

February 18, 2016 7:40 AM | 2 min read | Make a Comment

Shares of

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

WMT

were trading lower by more than 5 percent following the release of the company's

fourth quarter results. Wal-Mart said that it earned $1.49 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $129.7 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.46 per share on revenue of $131 billion. Wal-Mart noted that on a constant currency basis its total sales would have risen by 2.2 percent from the same quarter a year ago to $134.4 billion. International net sales of $32.7 billion were also impacted by unfavorable exchange rates as sales would have risen 3.3 percent from a year ago to $37.4 billion on a similar constant currency basis. Comp sales at Wal-Mart U.S. were higher by 0.6 percent in the quarter while Neighborhood Market comps rose approximately 7 percent. Wal-Mart International net sales were $32.7 billion "We had a solid fourth quarter to close out our fiscal year, with adjusted EPS of $1.49," said Doug McMilon, President and CEO of Wal-Mart. We are seeing momentum in our Walmart U.S. business as we continue to lap positive comps, and our international business is healthy and growing. We are pleased with fundamental trends that are allowing us to improve our stores, add critical capabilities and deepen our digital relationships with customers. Our initiatives are making it simpler and more convenient for customers to shop at Walmart." Outlook Wal-Mart lowered its fiscal 2017 sales outlook from 3 to 4 percent growth to "relatively flat." The company also guided its full year earnings per share to a range of $4.00 to $4.30 versus a consensus estimate of $4.17 per share. Wal-Mart also guided its first quarter earnings per share to a range of $0.80 to $0.95 per share versus a consensus estimate of $0.90 per share.

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Posted In: Earnings News Wal-Mart Wal-Mart Earnings Wal-Mart International Wal-Mart Neighborhood

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