Walmart Q4 Results: Retail giant beats earning expectations for Q4

Earning increase - Walmart reported Earning Per Share (EPS) at $1.53 for the December quarter as against $1.39 in the year-ago period. The EPS is higher than street estimates of $1.50 per share. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates all four times.

Revenue - THe company posted revenue of $152.87 billion which is higher than analysts' expectation of $152.53 billion. In the year-ago period, the company posted revenue of $152.08 billion. Walmart has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.

Margins - The consolidated profit margins increased by 10 basis points to 23.8%. The gross margins increased by 54 basis points.

Store number and Store sale - Walmart US had 4,600 pickup locations and 3,500 same-day delivery stores. The company remodelled more than 140 stores during the December quarter.

The company's same-store sales for the US market climbed by 5.6%. Same-store sales increased by the high single-digits for grocery, and sales in the health and wellness, apparel, seasonal and automotive categories also reported good growth.

International Business - The segment’s net sales fell 22.6% to $27 billion. Divestitures hurt the segment’s net sales by $10.1 billion. On a constant currency (cc) basis, net sales dropped 22.1% to $27.2 billion. The strength in Flipkart, Mexico, and China was an upside. Adjusted operating income, on a cc basis, slumped 12% to $0.8 billion.

Dividend Update - Walmart allocated $6.2 billion for dividend payouts and $9.8 billion for share buybacks during the fiscal. Walmart raised its annual dividend by about 2%, taking it to $2.24 per share for fiscal 2023. This marks the company’s 49th straight annual dividend hike.

2022 Outlook - The company expects its total sales to rise about 4% and same-store sales for Walmart US to increase by a little more than 3%, excluding the impact of divestitures. Consolidated operating income is expected to grow nearly 3% at cc and at a greater rate than net sales on excluding divestitures. Management envisions earnings per share (EPS) growth in the mid-single digit range.

Target Price - The 33 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Walmart Inc have a median target of $170, with a high estimate of $190 and a low estimate of $136.

The Walmart share price closed 4.01% higher on Thursday at $138.88 per share.

Walmart Q4 Results Review:

Walmart's top and bottom lines advanced YoY and surpassed street expectations. The company has increased its US grocery share market. The company’s solid efforts to enhance the e-commerce game have been helping it stay firm against the growing competition. The guidance for the new fiscal year is also looking good.