Walmart quarterly net income up 34.2%, income up 24.5% through October

Bentonville-based Walmart reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $179.496 billion, up 5.8% compared with the same period in 2024. Net income was $6.143 billion, up 34.2% compared with the 2024 quarter. Revenue and income beat market estimates.

Net earnings per share totaled 77 cents, before adjustments that resulted in net earnings per share of 62 cents, which compared to 57 cents a year ago and beat the estimate of 60 cents.

Through three quarters of business, Walmart reports total revenue of $522.507 billion, up 4.4% from a year ago. Net income before charges totaled $17.656 billion, up 24.5% from a year ago.

The results sent Walmart’s stock up more than 6.67% in active trading on Thursday. Walmart shares (NYSE: WMT) traded above $107 per share up more than $6 in the morning session. Year-to-date, the shares are up 18.78%. The stock has traded between $79.81 and $109.58 over the past 52 weeks.

“The team delivered another strong quarter across the business, and e-commerce was a bright spot again this quarter. We are gaining market share, improving delivery speed, and managing inventory well,” CEO Doug McMillon said in the earnings report posted Thursday (Nov. 20).

He said Walmart is well-positioned for a strong finish to the year. It was McMillon’s final earnings call before his retirement and the leadership change on Feb. 1.

“I am as excited about the future of this company as I have ever been. (Walmart U.S. CEO) John Furner is a fantastic leader with a proven track record. I could not be happier for him and for Walmart,” McMillon said.

Walmart also raised its full-year guidance to include sales growth between 4.8% and $5.1%, up from the 3.75% to 4.75% range given in August. They held adjusted operating income estimates steady between 4.8% and 5.5%. Adjusted earnings per share estimates increased to a range between $2.58 and $2.63, up 2.38% from the previous estimates.

Amid inflationary pressures, Walmart’s gross profit rate was flat at 24.2%. The retailer reported operating cash flow of $8.8 billion, up $2.6 billion from a year ago. Inventory increased to $64.5 billion, up 3.2% year over year.

Much of Wall Street was listening for Walmart’s take on the consumer. Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said overall the environment is consistent with past quarters.

“There’s certainly some pockets of moderation that we’re keeping an eye on,” he said during the earnings call. “But if you look at our full-year guidance, we think Q4 is going to look pretty similar to the other quarters. Holiday is off to a pretty good start. Everything we have seen from back-to-school to Halloween so far makes us optimistic and encouraged about customers and members leaning into the seasonal events and holiday shopping period.”

Rainey said the fair pricing legislation enacted in 2022 will go into effect in January 2026. The legislation lowers the cost of prescription medications for medicare recipients, reducing the prices retailers can negotiate with drug manufacturers. He said that risk of lower revenue is included in the new guidance.

Walmart also announced Thursday it is moving its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to NASDAQ effective Dec. 9. Walmart will keep its ticker symbol of WMT.

US MOMENTUM 
Walmart’s U.S. business reported revenue of $120.7 billion, up 5.1% from a year ago. Comp sales increased 4.5% with transactions up 1.8% and average ticket values rising 2.7%. Walmart’s growing online business was up 28% and was responsible for the majority of the comp-growth in the quarter. Walmart Connect, the advertising business, reported a 33% uptick in sales revenue from a year ago.

Walmart said inflation and tariffs have raised prices across its stores by around 1.3%. Furner reiterated how well buyer teams have been able to navigate choppy waters amid evolving tariff policy. There are 7,400 price rollbacks in Walmart stores and around 2,000 of them will become permanent price decreases, the company said.

Furner said inventory is healthy going into the holidays and he does not expect any major markdowns on the back-side of the holiday season to end the year in January.

The company has not yet said who will take over for Furner, but an announcement is coming soon. Odds point to Walmart International CEO Kath McLay, who also was CEO of Sam’s Club.

INTERNATIONAL NUMBERS
Walmart’s international business had a spectacular quarter, top to bottom, with net sales growth of 10.8% to $33.5 billion. On a constant-currency basis, sales revenue rose 11.4% from a year ago. Operating income totaled $700 million in the quarter, after the $700 million share-based compensation charge at PhonePe. Adjusted operating income totaled $1.4 billion, up 16.9% from a year ago.

McLay said during the earnings call that the segment’s growth was led by Flipkart in India, operations in China, and with Walmex. Transaction counts and unit volumes were up in all markets. Online sales increased 26%, led by the marketplace. Its advertising business grew by 34% year over year.

She said Flipkart’s Big Billion Days event was in the third quarter this year compared to the fourth quarter last year. McLay said the event was the largest in its history.

“We did over $1 billion in sales on the first day, and I think we did something like 700 orders per second during the first hour of the event,” she said. “So it was an extraordinary event. And yet despite that, we had lower e-commerce losses.”

SAM’S CLUB
The wholesale club format had total sales of $23.55 billion, up 3.1% with share gains in grocery and general merchandise. Comp sales totaled 3.8% with transactions up 3.9% and the average ticket was down 0.1%. The segment’s e-commerce business grew 22% from a year ago and added 3.3% to the overall comps.

Membership income grew 7.1% with increases in member counts and renewal rates. This helped the business grow its operating income to $700 million in the quarter, up 5.8% from a year ago.

Sam’s Club CEO Chris Nicholas said the quarterly results look a little off because of a tough comparison with a year ago. He urged analysts to look at the two-year stack that showed a more consistent growth pattern of around 11%.

MARKET SENTIMENT
Analysts applauded Walmart for its solid third-quarter results. BMO Capital’s Kelly Bania said Walmart “delivered another beat and raise quarter,” with consistent performance and robust growth in key areas like e-commerce, membership, and advertising.

Jan Kniffen, president of Kniffen Worldwide, said Walmart is winning when so many others are not. He said going into holiday he likes Walmart, TJX and Costco. Kniffen said Walmart is executing well, and he sees no reason that will change when Furner becomes CEO.

Scot Ciccarelli, a Truist senior equity analyst, said Walmart’s deep discount pricing, improved product quality, and expanded delivery options are “ideally suited for today’s environment” and are helping the company gain share across customer groups.