Walmart (WMT) Gains on Raised Guidance, Analyst Sees More Upside Than Downside

Shares of Walmart (NYSE: WMT) are up over 4% in premarket Tuesday after the retail giant reported results that beat the average analyst estimate.

Walmart reported an adjusted EPS of $1.77 per share to top the consensus of $1.63. Revenue came in at $152.86 billion to also beat the estimate of $151.14 billion. Total U.S. comparable sales, excluding gas, were +7% while the Bloomberg consensus called for +6.48%.

While Walmart reaffirmed the outlook for back-half of FY23, the company said it now sees year adjusted EPS decline of 9%-11%, better than the prior guidance calling for an 11%-13% decline.

Stifel analyst Mark Astrachan reflected positively on the results.

“We anticipate near-term U.S. consumer trends remain volatile, with July spending improving from June lows driven by gasoline deflation that began in mid-June and which has a disproportionate impact on Walmart’s lower-income consumer. We see more upside than downside for WMT shares,” he wrote in a client note.

Goldman Sachs analyst Kate McShane is positive on WMT after “the Q2 beat and raised FY22 guidance.” Similarly, BMO analyst Kelly Bania noted a “strong finish” to Q2 that helped the company to raise FY22 guidance.

“F2Q23 came in ahead of expectations despite a July guide down as the quarter finished stronger than expected. FY23 guidance was raised to reflect 2Q beat, while back half guidance was maintained. We rate WMT shares Outperform with a $160 target price,” Bania wrote in a client note.

By Senad Karaahmetovic

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