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Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

5/25/2013, 4:52 PM ET

Quote & Headlines Market Currents StockTalk

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Friday, May 24, 10:05 AM Wal-Mart (WMT +0.5%) thinks it has the answer on how to keep its shelves stocked adequately at stores as it introduces a new measure to link executive compensation to the issue. In the past, the company audited its on-shelf performance internally but will now turn it over to outside auditors. What started as anecdotal complaints on a lack of items at stores has turned into a larger flap which was even addressed during the firm's recent earnings call. (transcript). 3 Comments [Consumer]
Wednesday, May 22, 11:04 AM Wal-Mart (WMT -0.2%) finds a friend in Gap (GPS -0.3%) CEO Glenn Murphy who sided with the retail giant during a shareholder/analyst call when asked why the company didn't sign a highly-publicized Bangladesh building safety accord. The exec notes the framework of the agreement is European-based and it needs some U.S. accommodations before Gap and other U.S. retailers can become comfortable with it. (transcript) Comment!
Tuesday, May 21, 2:59 PM Battle back on: 19 retailers say they will opt out of a $7.25B settlement with Visa (V +0.2%) and MasterCard (MA +0.7%) over interchange fees and will consider additional legal action against the companies. The highly-anticipated move from the heavyweight retailers (WMT, GPS, COST, NKE) comes about a week before a court deadline in the case. 1 Comment [Consumer]
Tuesday, May 21, 8:40 AM A trend to watch: The grocery market in the U.K. is becoming increasingly polarized as both high-end specialty grocers and discounters pick up market share while national grocery store chains suffer. Is the same pattern unfolding in the U.S.? The Q1 read is that Wal-Mart (WMT) continues to gobble up grocery market share at the expense of Kroger (KR), Supervalu (SVU) and Safeway (SWY) while natural/organic chains (WFM, TFM, NGVC) remain a growth story. Comment! [Consumer]
Monday, May 20, 12:39 PM Where's the love for Wal-Mart (WMT -0.3%)? Despite projections the retail giant will grow earnings at a double-digit rate, the stock trades with a lower multiple than defensive-oriented peers such as Hershey, Kellogg, and Procter & Gamble, observes Stephen Leeb. The company is also gobbling up market share in the grocery category and its e-commerce sales growth beat Amazon's (30% vs. 22%) during the last quarter. 4 Comments [Consumer]
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]

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