Wal-Mart Earnings Beat Estimates, But Sales Miss

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $3.04 billion, or $1.00 per share, versus $3.08 billion, or 98 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was 96 cents. Sales were $117.5 billion, up from $115.9 billion last year, and just below the $117.8 billion FactSet consensus. Wal-Mart U.S. same-store sales increased 1.4% driven by a 1.5% increase in traffic. Digital sales for Walmart U.S. rose 63%. Wal-Mart sees second-quarter EPS of $1.00 to $1.08, excluding the estimated benefit of about 5 cents from the sale of its Mexican apparel format Suburbia. Same-store sales for Walmart U.S. excluding fuel are expects to rise 1.5% to 2%. Wal-Mart shares are up 0.8% in Thursday premarket trading, and up 19% for the past year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 17.6% for the past 12 months and the S&P 500 index is up 15.1% for the period.