Walmart is set to report fiscal third-quarter earnings before the bell on Thursday.
Here’s what analysts are expecting, based on a survey by Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $1.01 per share
- Revenue: $125.55 billion
- Same-store sales: up 3.1 percent in the U.S.
Walmart has been making investments in its stores, online and internationally to keep pace with arguably its biggest rival of all, Amazon. It payed $16 billion to acquire a majority stake in Indian e-commerce company Flipkart, as one example, to get a foothold in that fast-growing economy. The CEO of Flipkart, Binny Bansal, resigned earlier this week following an internal probe into “serious personal misconduct.”
Online, Walmart has been focused on expanding its merchandise assortment. One way it’s doing this is by acquiring digital brands, including most recently plus-sized fashion retailer Eloquii and intimates company Bare Necessities. The head of Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce business, Marc Lore, recently said Walmart could one day own more than 40 of these e-commerce retailers.
Walmart last quarter said it had the strongest growth in more than a decade at its stores open for at least 12 months, thanks to robust sales in its grocery and apparel departments. It’s competing against grocers like Kroger and Whole Foods by rolling out more same-day delivery options. In the apparel category, it’s now partnering with Lord & Taylor to sell more high-end items.
Analysts are looking to see what the company says Thursday about the key holiday quarter. Walmart is kicking off Black Friday deals online earlier than ever before, but faces a tough fight against Amazon and Target, which are both removing their minimum purchase thresholds for free shipping during the holiday season, while Walmart is still at $35.
Walmart shares are up about 11 percent from a year ago.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.