Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Cuts Profit Forecast
by August 15, 2013 8:46 am 68 views
Bentonville-based retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cut its annual profit forecast after higher payroll taxes reduced customer traffic in the second quarter.
Profit per share in the year ending January 2014 will be $5.10 to $5.30, the company said today in a statement. That’s less than its earlier projection of $5.20 to $5.40.
The average of 28 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was $5.29 a share.
CEO Mike Duke has been advertising Wal-Mart’s low prices to draw U.S. shoppers coping with elevated unemployment and higher taxes.
Sales at Wal-Mart U.S. stores open at least a year excluding fuel fell 0.3 percent in the quarter ended July 26. Analysts estimated a 0.9 percent gain.