Walmart (WMT+0.4%) trades higher after a strong quarter for e-commerce sales, grocery spending and apparel/school clothing. CFO Brett Biggs noted that consumers seemed to be coming out of hibernation. The small gain for WMT coincides with a down day across retail after the retail sales report missed expectations.
Looking ahead, Bank of America sees WMT very well-positioned as it executes an omni-channel strategy that leverages its dominant store footprint and broad assortment to support localized fulfillment advantages vs. Amazon and other competitors. "We believe rising visibility on growing alt. profit streams, incl. digital advertising & marketplace seller & fulfillment partner fees, will support valuation, while cont’d grocery market share gains & general merchandise strength (esp. Back-to-School) drive further WMT U.S. momentum," updates the firm.
Retail check: Target (NYSE:TGT) is heading in the other direction from Walmart today with a 2.52% decline. Costco (NASDAQ:COST) is flat in early trading. Party City (NYSE:PRTY) is down 4.30% after WMT said its own party supply sales were strong. Mall stocks like Gap (GPS-3.2%), Citi Trends (CTRN-4.4%), Victoria's Secret (VSCO-3.2%) and Guess (GES-3.0%) are all lower on the day.