Walmart shares fall 7.7% after company forecasts EPS below estimates
Walmart's stock dropped 7.7% on Thursday after the company said profits this year will likely fall short of what Wall Street expected.
It's predicting earnings per share of $2.75 to $2.85, below the $2.91 analysts hoped for, and sees net sales growing around 3.5% to 4.5%.
CFO John David Rainey pointed out that higher gas prices and smaller tax refunds could make it tougher for shoppers to stretch their budgets.
Walmart Q1 sales climb to $177.8B
Even with the gloomy outlook, Walmart's latest results were pretty solid: first-quarter sales jumped 7% to $177.8 billion, same-store sales rose by 4.1%, and online shopping revenue shot up 26%.
Its advertising business also grew by 37%.
Rainey shared that second-quarter operating income could hit a 15-year high, even after taking a $175 million hit from fuel costs, showing Walmart's ability to stay steady when things get tough.