Earnings Preview: Wal-Mart Stores

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) is expected to report Q3 earnings before the market opens on Thursday, November 12 with a pre-recorded conference call scheduled for 7:30 am ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for a profit of 81c on revenues of $99.88B. The consensus range is 79c-84c for EPS, and $97.98B-$101.5B for revenue, according to First Call. On August 13, when Wal-Mart reported its Q2 earnings, it gave Q3 and FY09 guidance. The company said it saw Q3 EPS of 78c-82c vs. a consensus at the time of 80c, and raised the lower end of its FY09 EPS view to $3.50-$3.60 from $3.45-$3.60 vs. a consensus of $3.56. Wal-Mart also made forward looking comments on October 22, when it said it saw 1%-2% sales growth this year, and projected its FY10 total capital spending to be in a range of $12.5B-$13.1B, up from approximately $11.5B in FY09. Today, former Wal-Mart CEO and current chairman of the board H. Lee Scott said the company sees a very difficult Christmas selling season, and added that he expects 2010 to look a lot like 2009.

Analyst Views

Lazard Capital believes expectations are low going into Wal-Mart's Q3 results, indicating a "relief rally" could be seen following the results. The firm finds the risk/reward on shares favorable and maintains a Buy rating.