Wal-Mart: Shares Jump as Profits Soar

by Christopher Freeburn | May 17, 2012 10:55 am

Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT[1]) announced Thursday that earnings for its fiscal first-quarter[2] rose 10.1% to $3.74 billion, up from $3.39 billion in the same quarter last year.

EPS for the first quarter was $1.09, topping Wall Street expectations of $1.04 a share, the Associated Press noted.

Shares of the world’s largest retailer jumped more than 5% in Thursday morning trading.

Excluding membership fees from its Sam’s Club unit, sales at the retailing giant grew 8.6% to $112.2 billion. That also bested analysts, who predicted sales of $110.5 billion for the quarter.

Same-store revenue increased 2.6% at its eponymous U.S. stores, which exceeded analysts’ forecast of 1.4% revenue growth.

The company noted strong growth in its Mexican subsidiary, which has been the focus of a recent allegations of widespread corruption[3].

Endnotes:

WMT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=WMT
earnings for its fiscal first-quarter: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EARNS_WAL_MART?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-05-17-07-31-11
widespread corruption: http://investorplace.com/2012/04/wal-marts-mexican-bribery-scandal-5-facts/

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