Despite a strong fourth quarter, shares of Walmart are under pressure after the company forecasted full-year earnings below estimates on Tuesday.
The retailer said it was cautious about the economic outlook for 2023 and that consumers were likely to continue shopping for lower-priced items that could pressure its margins.
Doug McMillon, Walmart CEO, said the Walmart team was forced to act quickly and aggressively to address inventory and cost challenges last year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly consumer price index (CPI) report for January showed that prices for food at home – the classification for food bought at the store to be prepared at home – were up 11.3% compared to 2022.
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With elevated prices for groceries, Walmart delivered adjusted earnings of $1.71 a share to beat estimates of $1.52, while revenue reached $164 billion to beat estimates of $159.7 billion, according to FactSet.
The company's quarterly attributable net income also went up, rising 76.2% to $6.28 billion, helped by unrealized gains in equity and other investments.
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Meanwhile, U.S. same-store sales, an industry metric tracking revenue at stores open for more than a year, peaked at 8.3% to pummel expectations for a 4.9% increase.
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Eric Revell of FOX Business and Reuters contributed to this report.
