Second-quarter results from large retailers will continue to highlight this week’s earnings lineup with Walmart WMT set to release its Q2 report on Thursday, August 15.
Notably, Walmart’s Zacks Retail-Supermarkets Industry is currently in the top 11% of approximately 250 Zacks industries. As a prime beneficiary of its strong business environment, Walmart’s stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) with now appearing to be an ideal time to invest in the omnichannel giant.
Walmart’s Q2 Expectations
Based on Zacks estimates, Walmart’s Q2 sales are thought to have increased 4% to $168.5 billion. On the bottom line, Q2 earnings are expected to be up 6% to $0.65 a share compared to EPS of $0.61 in the comparative quarter.
Walmart has attributed its recent momentum to higher volumes which has led to market share gains including general merchandise sales. To that point, Walmart has surpassed sales estimates for 17 consecutive quarters and exceeded earnings expectations in three of its last four quarterly reports posting an average EPS surprise of 8.34%.
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Performance Comparison
Walmart’s infamous rollback prices have continued to draw customers in what has still been a higher inflationary environment which has kept the company ahead of competitors such as Target TGT and Kroger KR.
Reflecting this price leadership is that Walmart’s stock has soared nearly +30% year to date to impressively top Kroger’s +12% and Target’s -5%.
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Attractive Growth Trajectory
Overall, Walmart’s total sales are now projected to rise 4% in its current fiscal 2025 and are forecasted to increase another 3% in FY26 to $700.3 billion. Even better, annual earnings are expected to be up 9% in FY25 and are slated to jump another 10% in FY26 to $2.67 per share.
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Bottom Line
Walmart’s dominance among supermarket retailers has become undeniable in recent years and the rally in WMT could continue with the company expected to post sound growth for Q2. This makes it noteworthy that the Average Zacks Price Target of $73.74 still suggests 7% upside in Walmart’s stock.
