The largest U.S. retailer Walmart Inc. (WMT) raised adjusted earnings and revenue in Q2 of fiscal 2024 (ended July 31 2023) visibly above market expectations and improved full-year guidance. The company now expects Q3 sales to increase 3% YoY and adjusted EPS in the range of $1.45 and $1.50 vs. consensus of $1.49. FY2023 sales to increase by 4% to 4.5% and adjusted EPS was upgraded to become in the range of $6.36 and $6.46 vs. consensus of $6.27.

Nevertheless, the stock is declining by 2.24% in the course of today’s, August 18, U.S. premarket reacting to general market sentiment.

The world's biggest retailer reported the following key metrics:

● Earnings per share: $1.84 adjusted vs. $1.71 expected

● Revenue: $161.63 billion (+5.7%) vs. $152.86 billion a year earlier and $160.27 billion expected

In the reporting period, the company's net income jumped more than one-and-a-half times to $7.89 billion, or $2.92 per share, compared with $5.15 billion, or $1.88 per share, for the comparable period last year.

Customers visited Walmart's stores and website more often and bought more when they did. Transactions increased by 2.9% and the average ticket rose by 3.4% for Walmart U.S. As a result, Walmart U.S. comp sales rose 6.4%; eCommerce advanced by 24%, led by pickup & delivery.