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WMT

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

5/19/2013, 2:43 PM ET

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Thursday, May 16, 2:27 PM Wal-Mart vs. Target in Canada: The Q1 report released by Wal-Mart (WMT -2.2%) is one of the first indications of how Target's (TGT -0.7%) expansion into Canada is playing out for its rival. During the earnings call, execs didn't say the T-word (and the company won't take analyst questions), but they did cite lower traffic and a decline in operating income as well as noting Wal-Mart didn't leverage expenses in the nation. (transcript) 1 Comment [Consumer]
Thursday, May 16, 10:08 AM Grocery sales in focus: Retail analysts note something doesn't add up with Wal-Mart's (WMT -2.6%) claim per Nielsen data that it's "winning" market share for its grocery business despite the retailer's overall sales slip. On a rough comparison, the company's grocery store sales are growing level with Safeway (SWY +0.2%) - but still trail the pace of Whole Foods Market (WFM -0.1%) and Kroger (KR) by quite a lot. Is Wal-Mart's grocery share gain at the expense of the dollar store group (DG, DLTR, FDO)? 6 Comments [Consumer]
Thursday, May 16, 9:23 AM Heard during Wal-Mart's (WMT) earnings call: 1) The retail giant admits it didn't see a late quarter sales rush from delayed tax refunds taking a little bit of the wind out of the sail on that excuse. May sales are looking better. 2) CEO Mike Duke mentions weather a few more times than analysts would like (Costco +4% same-store sales?) and also notes a negative impact from lower grocery inflation. 3) The potential for e-commerce is intriguing after sales jumped 30% Y/Y. Walmart.com sees +45M visitors per month and in the U.K. the company is the second largest online grocer. 4) No Q&A. (transcript) Comment! [Consumer]
Thursday, May 16, 7:40 AM More highlights from Wal-Mart (WMT): 1) Legal expenses related to the bribery probe and FCPA issues are expected to be $65M-$70M in Q2. 2) The retailer sees U.S. stores comparable sales flat to +2% for Q2. 3) Sam's Club fees were increased on May 15 for Advantage (+$5) and Business (+$10) memberships, marking the first bump since 2006. In Q1, Sam's Club saw comp traffic up 1.3% while the average ticket was 1.1% lower. WMT -2.4% premarket. (PR) 1 Comment [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move]
Thursday, May 16, 7:22 AM More on Wal-Mart's (WMT) Q1: Comparable-store sales dipped 1.4% during Q1 as the company says delayed income tax refunds and lousy weather cut into traffic. Revenue at Wal-Mart International grew 2.9% to $33B while Sam's Club sales were up just 0.1% to $13.87B. Traffic was down 1.8% across the company, a bigger drop than analysts forecast. A couple of bright spots during the quarter were booming e-commerce sales (+30%) and a gain in market share in the food, consumables and health & wellness/OTC category. The retailer sees Q2 EPS of $1.22-$1.27 vs. $1.29 consensus. WMT -1.8% premarket to $78.40. (PR) Comment! [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move]
Thursday, May 16, 7:07 AM Wal-Mart (WMT): Q1 EPS of $1.14 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $114.19B (+3.9% Y/Y) misses by $2.23B. (PR) 4 Comments [Breaking News, Earnings, Consumer]
Thursday, May 16, 12:05 AM Notable earnings before Thursday’s open: ALKS, DANG, FLO, KSS, SOL, WMT Comment! [Earnings]
Wednesday, May 15, 5:30 PM Notable earnings before Thursday’s open: ALKS, DANG, FLO, KSS, SOL, WMT Comment! [Earnings]
Wednesday, May 15, 2:34 PM Wal-Mart (WMT +1%) might be able to beat down competition from the dollar store group (DG, DLTR, FDO, FIVE) if it can achieve two important things: 1) Take traffic directly away from dollar stores by opening new Neighborhood stores in strategic locations. 2) Drive home with consumers its pricing advantage, especially given that a new Bloomberg Industries study found Wal-Mart beat dollar stores on prices almost all the time. 6 Comments [Consumer]
Wednesday, May 15, 7:53 AM Wal-Mart (WMT) says it won't sign an accord with European retailers over factory safety in Bangladesh, but will implement its own policies aimed at preventing the type of tragic factory collapse which killed more than a thousand workers last month. The company says it will conduct detailed safety inspections of all 279 factories it uses in Bangladesh and publish the results on its website. WMT +0.2% premarket. 2 Comments [Consumer]
Tuesday, May 14, 8:25 AM The rubber meets the road this week when Wal-Mart (WMT) reports Q1 earnings. The retailer blamed late tax refunds for soft numbers earlier in the year and complaints of empty store shelves due to understaffing have been a nagging concern. If Wal-Mart sales show a bit of strength, share could breach the $80 mark for the first time. Comment! [Consumer]
Monday, May 13, 9:22 AM Hennes & Mauritz (HMRF.PK) is the first major retailer to agree to a new set of fire and building rules set forth by the International Labour Organization and trade unions following a deadly factory building collapse last month in Bangladesh. Gap (GPS) and Wal-Mart (WMT) are expected to feel some pressure to follow suit. 1 Comment [Consumer, Global & FX]
Thursday, May 9, 7:03 AM Wal-Mart (WMT) invests 100M yuan ($16.3M) to improve its food safety protocol in China as contamination scandals in the nation continue to raise widespread concerns about suppliers. A news report from the Xinhua news agency earlier this week accused the company of using expired eggs in baked goods. 1 Comment [Consumer]
Wednesday, May 8, 3:00 PM A devastating fire in Bangladesh at an apparel factory has added a sense of urgency to a push in the retail world to disclose where and how products are made. The move isn't purely based on altruism, surveys show consumers will pay more for clothes with signs on fair-labor practices. Nordstrom (JWN +0.2%) is considering starting to promote clothes made in humane working conditions - while Nike (NKE) and Wal-Mart (WMT -0.7%) plan to take on tired accusations of sweat-shop tactics with more disclosures. 1 Comment [Consumer]
Wednesday, May 8, 8:18 AM The rent-seekers otherwise known as those running the country's banks ganged up last year to urge the Fed not to allow Wal-Mart (WMT) to offer financial services, according to minutes of the Federal Advisory Council just obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. The banks successfully got Wal-Mart to drop a 2005 bid for a Utah-based bank and now they're up in arms about the company's entry into the prepaid card business. 1 Comment [Financials]
Tuesday, May 7, 1:02 PM Wal-Mart (WMT +0.2%) is reportedly considering two internal candidates to eventually succeed CEO Mike Duke. Bill Simon from the U.S. side of the business and Doug McMillion from the international side have been bandied about in the past as potential CEO candidates. Comment! [Consumer]

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