After reporting quarterly earnings in line with expectations, Walmart lowered its outlook for the rest of the year–from a previous low of $5.10 earnings per share to $4.90. Walmart International saw net sales increase almost 3%, while traffic to US Walmart stores deceased more than 1%.
Higher healthcare costs and uncertainty on taxes contributed to the revised guidance, according to the company. Another factor is Walmart’s “incremental investments in e-commerce.” The “incremental” indicates that Walmart is still moving cautiously in the e-commerce space currently dominated by rival Amazon. (Amazon’s growth at any price strategy has been the opposite of incremental.) Walmart’s strategy may end up being a sound one. It reports “e-commerce sales globally increased approximately 24 percent on a constant currency basis, with double-digit growth in the U.S., U.K., China and Brazil.”
