Walmart Q4 Earnings: 7% Sales Growth, Flat Margins, Dividend Boost And Cautious Outlook

  • Walmart Inc WMT reported fourth-quarter FY23 sales growth of 7.3% year-on-year to $164 billion, beating the consensus of $159.8 billion. Sales grew by 7.9% Y/Y at CC.
  • Net sales from Walmart U.S. increased 8.0% Y/Y, Walmart International rose 2.1%, and Sam's club jumped 11.3%.
  • Excluding fuel, Walmart's U.S. comp sales grew 8.3% and 13.9% on a two-year stack. eCommerce growth was 17% and 18% on a two-year stack.
  • Global advertising business grew by over 20%, led by 41% at Walmart Connect in the U.S. and strength in Flipkart Ads.
  • The adjusted operating margin was flat Y/Y at 3.9%. The company held $8.9 billion in cash and equivalents.
  • Adjusted EPS of $1.71 beat the consensus of $1.51. Inventories were $56.6 billion.
  • "The team delivered a strong quarter to finish the year, and as our results in the last two quarters show, they acted quickly and aggressively to address the inventory and cost challenges we faced last year," CEO Doug McMillon said.
  • Dividend: Walmart boosted its FY24 annual cash dividend by 2% to $2.28 per share. Walmart will pay the dividend in four quarterly installments of $0.57 per share.
  • Outlook: Walmart sees a Q1 FY24 net sales growth of 4.5% - 5.0% at CC (consensus $146.70 billion) and adj EPS $1.25 - $1.30 (consensus $1.36).
  • Walmart expects FY23 net sales growth of 2.5% - 3.0% at CC (consensus $626.71 billion) and adj EPS $5.90 - $6.05 (consensus $6.50).
  • Price Action: WMT shares are trading lower by 4.27% at $140.20 in premarket on the last check Tuesday.
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