Wal-Mart Shares Rise After Earnings Beat Estimates

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shares rose 3.5% in Thursday premarket trading after the retail giant reported second-quarter earnings that exceeded estimates. Net income was $3.77 billion, or $1.21 per share, up from $3.48 billion, or $1.08 per share for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were $1.07, beating the $1.02 per share FactSet consensus. Revenue totaled $120.85 billion, up from $120.23 billion and beating the $120.17 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales at Walmart U.S. rose 1.6%, beating the FactSet consensus of 1%. Wal-Mart now expects fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS of $4.15 to $4.35, which includes the expected operating losses and one-time expenses tied to the acquisition of e-commerce site Jet.com but excludes the non-cash gain of 14 cents net of tax from the sale of Yihaodian. The FactSet estimate is $4.27. Wal-Mart also expects same-store sales for the quarter ending Oct. 28 at Walmart U.S. to rise 1% to 1.5%. Wal-Mart shares are up 19% for the year so far while the S&P 500 Index is up 6.8% for the same period.