1. Home
2. /News
3. /Walmart Raises 2025 Earnings Forecast After Stronger-Than-Expected Q3

Walmart Raises 2025 Earnings Forecast After Stronger-Than-Expected Q3

Ignacio Teson•Tuesday, November 19, 2024•1 min read

U.S. supermarket chain Walmart has once again raised its earnings forecast for fiscal year 2025, which ends in January.

It happened following a better-than-expected third-quarter performance driven by stronger demand in the U.S. and a surge in online sales.

The retail giant reported Tuesday a revenue of $169.59 billion for the third quarter ending in October, marking a 5.5% increase compared to the same period last year.

Net income reached $4.58 billion, up from $453 million in the previous year.

These results surpassed analyst expectations compiled by FactSet, which had forecasted revenue of $167.69 billion and earnings of $4.31 billion, respectively.

Earnings per share came in at $0.58, exceeding the market’s expected $0.53 and last year’s $0.51.

“We had a solid quarter, continuing our trajectory,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon summarized in a statement.

The number of transactions increased by 3.1%, and the average transaction value rose by 2.1%. The biggest jump came from online sales, which grew by 22% compared to the third quarter of last year.

Walmart achieved these results despite hurricanes that forced it to close more than 400 stores and led to “unexpected costs.”

Future Expectations

For fiscal year 2025, the company, which employs the largest number of people in the U.S. among private-sector firms, has upgraded its outlook once again, following similar adjustments in the previous two quarters.

Walmart now expects annual revenue growth of 4.8% to 5.1%, up from the previous forecast of 3.25% to 4.25%, and earnings per share of $2.42 to $2.47, compared to the prior range of $2.35 to $2.43.

In fiscal year 2024, Walmart posted revenues of $642.6 billion with earnings of $2.22 per share.

Outside the U.S., Walmart saw an 8% growth, with sales reaching $30.3 billion, driven especially by its operations in Mexico (Walmex), China, and India.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Ignacio Teson

Economist and Financial Analyst

Ignacio Teson is an Economist and Financial Analyst. He has more than 7 years of experience in emerging markets. He worked as an analyst and market operator at brokerage firms in Argentina and Spain.

Related Articles

Comments

0 0 votes

Article Rating

Subscribe

Login

Notify of

new follow-up commentsnew replies to my comments

Please login to comment

0 Comments

Oldest

Newest Most Voted

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments