Walmart raised its forecast for the year on Thursday, as quarterly revenue grew nearly 5%, the company’s stores and website drew more visits, and sales outside the grocery department improved.
The discounter beat Wall Street’s expectations for sales and profits, and its shares climbed 6% in morning trading.
Walmart said it now expects sales to rise by 3.75% to 4.75% for the full year, and adjusted earnings to come in between $2.35 and $2.43 per share. It previously said it expected to be on the high end or slightly above its initial full-year guidance, which called for net sales growth of 3% to 4% and adjusted earnings per share of between $2.23 and $2.37.
While Walmart raised its outlook, its projected second half of the year may not be as strong as Wall Street anticipated. The retailer expects adjusted earnings of 51 to 52 cents per share in the third quarter, below analysts’ expectations of 54 cents. Analysts also expected adjusted earnings of $2.43 per share for the year — the highest point of Walmart’s guidance.
In an interview with CNBC, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said the company’s brighter outlook reflects strength in the first half of the year. He said Walmart decided against raising expectations for the back half of the year, especially since the 2024 election, unrest in the Middle East and other dynamics may influence consumer sentiment.
“In this environment, it’s responsible or prudent to be a little bit guarded with the outlook, but we’re not projecting a recession,” he said.
He said Walmart has not noticed a shift in consumer behavior. He said every month of the quarter was “relatively consistent” and the back-to-school season “is off to a pretty good start.”
“We see, among our members and customers, that they remain choiceful, discerning, value-seeking, focusing on things like essentials rather than discretionary items, but importantly, we don’t see any additional fraying of consumer health,” Rainey said.
Walmart saw another promising indicator: Sales of general merchandise, such as lawn and garden supplies, were positive for the first time in 11 quarters. He said those sales were up only slightly, but were an “encouraging sign for us.”
Here’s what the discounter reported for the fiscal second quarter compared with what Wall Street expected, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 67 cents adjusted vs. 65 cents expected
- Revenue: $169.34 billion vs. $168.63 billion
Walmart’s net income dropped to $4.5 billion, or 56 cents per share, in the three-month period that ended July 31, compared with $7.89 billion, or 97 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Revenue rose from $161.63 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Comparable sales for Walmart U.S. rose 4.2% in the second quarter, excluding fuel, compared with the year-ago period, which topped analysts’ expectations. The industry metric includes sales from stores and clubs open for at least a year.
At Sam’s Club, comparable sales rose 5.2%, excluding…
Read More: Walmart (WMT) earnings Q2 2025