Walmart Inc. NYSE: WMT domy towarowe, markety - największa sieć detaliczna świata

[slayer74]

Walmart to cut hundreds of jobs at e-commerce facilities

An exclusive story by Reuters on Thursday reports that hundreds of workers at five U.S. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) facilities that fulfill e-commerce orders are being asked to find jobs within 90 days at other company locations.

A spokesman confirmed that about 200 workers at Pedricktown, New Jersey, and hundreds of others at Fort Worth, Texas; Chino, California; Davenport, Florida; and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania were let go due to a reduction or elimination in evening and weekend shifts. The spokesperson declined to call them mass layoffs and said that the warehouses continued to operate normally.

"We recently adjusted staffing levels to better prepare for the future needs of customers," Walmart said in a statement, adding that it would work closely with affected associates to find jobs at other locations.

Walmart has been investing heavily in automation over the past few years, partnering with automation companies such as Knapp to help it cut down the number of steps it takes employees to process e-commerce orders.

On a post-earnings call in February, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said he was "most excited about the automation opportunity we have" with plans to increase investments in automation technology as part of its more than $15-billion capital expenditure budget this year.

"You will begin to see the significant benefits from the investments that we're making in things like our supply chain automation and our expanded e-commerce capabilities," Walmart CFO John Rainey said during the call. "The macro pressures this year may obscure some of that progress but won't take away from the long-term promise of many of these initiatives."

The news comes months after the company let laid off nearly 1,500 workers at an Atlanta, Georgia, online order fulfillment center, as part of a modernization plan to build warehouses with a more high-tech spin. However, the spokesperson said the new round of layoffs was unrelated to its modernization plans.

Shares of WMT are up 0.93% in mid-day trading on Thursday.

[slayer74]

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) stock edged lower ahead of the start of a two-day meeting for investors and analysts, with Bloomberg reporting that the retail giant is set to cut more than 2,000 jobs at five U.S. e-commerce warehouses.

[slayer74]

Walmart aims for 65% of stores to be automation serviced by 2026.

(Reuters) -Walmart Inc on Tuesday said it expects about 65% of its stores to be serviced by automation by the end of its fiscal year 2026, just days after revealing plans to lay off more than 2,000 people at facilities that fulfill online orders.

The announcement, amid the U.S. retail giant's annual investor meeting in Tampa, Florida, comes as Walmart (NYSE:WMT) increasingly uses its huge stores to handle online-order deliveries and invests heavily in automation to speed up order processing at its e-commerce fulfillment facilities.

It was not immediately clear if this move would lead to more layoffs at the country's biggest private employer, with about 1.7 million U.S. workers and another 60,000 abroad. The company said the moves would reduce the need for lower-paid roles.

"As the changes are implemented across the business, one of the outcomes is roles that require less physical labor but have a higher rate of pay," the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said in a filing.

"Over time, the company anticipates increased throughput per person, due to the automation while maintaining or even increasing its number of associates as new roles are created," it added.

About 55% of packages that it processes through its fulfillment centers will be moved through automated facilities by January 2026, improving unit cost averages by about 20%, the company said.

"This increased efficiency will not only support better inventory management, but it will also support Walmart's rapidly growing e-commerce business," Stephens Inc analyst Ben Bienvenu wrote in a note.

Walmart, which operates more than 5,000 U.S. stores, did not immediately respond to questions about whether the moves will result in any near-term layoffs.

The world's largest retailer by sales maintained its forecast for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2024, which calls for net sales to rise by 2.5% to 3% and earnings by $5.90 to $6.05 per share.

It also kept its forecast for first-quarter sales to rise between 4.5% and 5% in constant currency.

Walmart has invested billions of dollars in technology for its online order facilities, including buying grocery robotics company Alert Innovation and partnering with companies such as Knapp to help cut the number of steps it takes for employees to process e-commerce orders down to five from 12.

On a post-earnings call in February, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said he was "most excited about the automation opportunity we have" with plans to increase investments in automation technology as part of its more than $15-billion capital spending budget this year.

[slayer74]

Zarobki $WMT (Walmart Inc.) – bezpieczna przystań w czasie burzy?
Oczekuje się, że gigant handlu detalicznego odnotuje $1.32 EPS i $147.8 mld przychodów. Pomimo wysokiej inflacji, niskie ceny produktów Walmart i udane przyjęcie najnowocześniejszych technologii umożliwiły firmie utrzymanie rentowności, a cena jej akcji stale rośnie, osiągając historyczne maksima.

[slayer74]

(Reuters) -Walmart Inc raised its annual sales and profit targets on Thursday as shoppers snapped up its low-priced groceries and other essentials.

Shares of the top U.S. retailer by sales rose 1% after it also reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter. Its stock has risen 5.5% in the year to Wednesday, outperforming the broader Dow Jones Index's 1% rise.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has been keeping grocery prices low to fend off competition from Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) and Kroger (NYSE:KR), as Americans continue to struggle with persistent food inflation.

While prices for food eaten at home fell for the second-straight month in April, they remain elevated at 7.1% above a year ago, data from the Commerce department showed last week.

Along with asking suppliers for the lowest prices, the retailer has also been remodeling its Supercenters, by widening aisles, updating fixtures and adding more bright lights, signage, digital displays and spaces to showcase home goods.

Walmart also launched a redesigned website and app in April with a cleaner, less cluttered look that highlights deals and tailors items to upcoming holidays or a specific season.

It has also invested heavily in membership programs offered by Walmart and its warehouse business Sam's Club over the years, which is proving to be attractive as they offer free delivery and pickup and other perks such as 10 cents off gas at the pump at Walmart locations.

This is helping it gain wealthier households and Gen Z customers, who are looking for both low price and convenience, such as grocery delivery and curbside pickup, CEO Doug McMillon said on a post-earnings call. CFO John David Rainey said sales at the remodeled stores were "a couple of percentage points" higher than those not remodeled.

Overall, sales at Walmart's U.S. stores open at least a year rose 7.4%, excluding fuel, in the first quarter ended April 30, handily beating expectations of a 5.25% increase.

"As consumers have less purchasing power, less buying power, we're seeing more of their income, their wallets being devoted towards food, and less towards general merchandise," CFO John David Rainey told Reuters.

Rainey said he expects this trend to continue over the back half of the year. CEO Doug McMillon said he remained "uncertain" as inflation remained "stubborn" in dry groceries and items made for immediate consumption.

While inflation remains sticky and worries of the economy falling into a recession this year continue, recent economic data shows that consumer spending has remained resilient.

HEALTH PRODUCTS HELP DELIVER IMPRESSIVE QUARTER

For Walmart, U.S. comparable grocery sales grew in the low double-digits, while general merchandise sales declined mid single-digits, Rainey said on an analyst call.

The company also saw more customers reach for health and wellness products this quarter, singling out increased demand for drugs used to treat diabetes.

A new crop of drugs - Ozempic and Wegovy - have proven to be especially popular in the United States for their ability to treat diabetes and induce weight loss.

"That was about as impressive as a quarter that Walmart could have," said David Wagner, a portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors that holds Walmart shares.

Walmart's strong results are in stark contrast to rivals Target and Home Depot (NYSE:HD)'s bleak forecasts, which they blamed on weak consumer demand. Walmart's online sales were also strong, rising 27% in the first-quarter compared to a 3.4% decline for Target during the same period.

Walmart now expects full-year earnings per share in the range of $6.10 to $6.20, up from its prior outlook of $5.90 to $6.05. Analysts were estimating $6.16 per share.

The company also forecast net sales to rise about 3.5%, higher than its prior outlook of 2.5% to 3%.

Historically, the company does not raise full-year forecasts during its first-quarter results. Rainey said the company broke this tradition because "in this unique environment, it's important to provide an ongoing framework as our views evolve."

[slayer74]

BENTONVILLE, Arkansas (Reuters) - Walmart (NYSE:WMT) still expects to double the amount of gross merchandise volume it sells in foreign markets to $200 billion in five years, a top executive at the retailer said on Friday, even as the global economy remains on shaky ground.

Gross merchandise volume (GMV) measures the total value of all goods sold through a platform or marketplace, which in Walmart's case includes its Cashi digital payments app platform in Mexico and Flipkart marketplace in India.

"It is a pretty ambitious target. The markets that we have today have plans to be able to get there," Judith McKenna, Walmart International's CEO, told analysts at a meeting in Fayetteville, Arkansas, near the Bentonville headquarters of the world's largest retailer by sales.

The analysts meeting and a press presentation by Walmart CEO Doug McMillon were held on Friday in conjunction with the retailer's annual shareholders meeting in Bentonville.

Five years ago, Walmart International generated about $120 billion in GMV. But after it divested its businesses in Brazil, Argentina, Japan and the United Kingdom, the number slipped to $100 billion in the year to Jan. 31, 2023.

McKenna in April first announced the expectation of doubling Walmart's foreign GMV. She expressed continued confidence on Friday even as the International Monetary Fund revised down its global economic growth forecasts for 2023 and 2024, citing persistent inflation.

Walmart's business model has evolved over the past few years, with a greater focus on omni-channel - a strategy that ties together its e-commerce business, delivery services, advertising and marketplace business. McKenna said Walmart's huge size and technological breadth will give it the leverage to scale this strategy more quickly.

McKenna said she expects Walmart's growth to come from implementing the omni-channel strategy globally, scaling existing and new marketplaces in the 19 foreign countries in which it operates, and building a complementary business "ecosystem" like the one it has in Mexico.

Besides selling everyday products through brick-and-mortar stores in Mexico, Walmart offers financial services through its Cashi app, telecom services through BAIT and has now started offering healthcare services in the country.

Walmart's omni-channel efforts have been a boon for the retailer as recession fears push more Americans to seek bargains in groceries. Inflation continues to be persistent in dry groceries, the company said. With more of family budgets being spent on food, Walmart and other retailers are rethinking how they price apparel, home and other discretionary products or are resorting to more discounts.

To prod customers to open up their wallets, McMillon told reporters, the company will offer low prices for the upcoming back-to-school season. Walmart will be focused on low prices for notebooks or pens or pencils and will offer a lot more quantity and alternatives that shoppers can choose according to their budget, McMillon added.

[slayer74]

Walmart to invest $257 million in beef-packing plant in Kansas

(Reuters) - Walmart (NYSE:WMT) said on Tuesday it would invest $257 million to open a beef-packing plant in Olathe, Kansas in 2025, which would create more than 600 jobs.

The facility will package and distribute cuts of the higher grade Angus beef from Sustainable Beef LLC. Walmart had acquired a minority stake in the ranch-based beef processing plant last year, which is expected to be functional in late-2024.

The company's investment plans come at a time when consumers have been trading down to cheaper private labels due to high inflation.

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-ma ... as-3104425

[slayer74]

(Reuters) - Supermarket chain Kroger (NYSE:KR) in a cautious move on Thursday reaffirmed its annual forecasts after it beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit and same-store sales on steady demand for essentials and easing supply chain costs.

Shares of the retailer, which had consistently raised its outlook over the past two years, fell 4.5% to $45.07 after the dull forecast.

"Investors wanted to see a forecast raise," said Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman, adding there was hope that Kroger could have performed a bit stronger considering robust grocery sales seen at some of its competitors.

Last month, rival Walmart (NYSE:WMT) raised its annual forecasts as more Americans shopped for its lower-priced groceries and other essentials.

But Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen blamed the "economic environment" for its decision to not raise the forecast, saying it was "significantly impacting our budget conscious shoppers."

Target (NYSE:TGT) has also maintained its full-year forecasts amid a gloomy spending environment.

"Least loyal customers... are clearly prioritizing the price at shelf over other factors such as personalized offers, convenience and quality," Kroger's McMullen said.

Kroger, which is set to buy smaller rival Albertsons in a $25 billion deal, saw net sales rise 1.3% to $45.17 billion in the first quarter ended May, but fell short of estimates of $45.24 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

"Investors had become accustomed to seeing a really strong beat on top and bottom lines, but that wasn't the case this quarter," said CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram.

However, Kroger's gross margins rose 21 basis points, compared to a fall a year earlier, benefiting from lower supply chain costs as well as its efforts to source some products closer to its distribution centers.

It also profited from shoppers - including higher-income consumers looking for more economical options amid persistent inflation - preferring its store-label brands to pricier national brands.

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-ma ... nd-3106242

[slayer74]

Google transltor

Analitycy Morgan Stanley powtórzyli rating Overweight i cenę docelową 160 USD dla Walmart (NYSE:WMT) W poniedziałek, stwierdzając, że najnowsze badanie firmy wskazuje na 21,5 miliona członków Walmart+.

Liczba ta stanowi nowy rekord i ponad 3 miliony fleksji w porównaniu z wcześniejszą ankietą Morgan Stanley.

"Walmart + ma ~ 21,5 miliona członków, rekordowo wysoką w naszej serii badań" - oświadczyli analitycy. "Według naszego najnowszego badania AlphaWise Consumer Pulse Survey Wave 44 (przeprowadzonego 6.16-6.19), Walmart + ma 21,4 mln członków, czyli ~ 17% penetracji gospodarstw domowych w USA. To o 3,2 mln członków powyżej naszych ostatnich szacunków ankietowych w maju – co oznacza jeden z największych kolejnych wzrostów w historii naszej serii badań – i 1,4 mln powyżej naszego poprzedniego rekordowego poziomu z fali 42 (przeprowadzonej 4.28-5.1). Pozytywne przegięcie kontynuuje szerszy trend wzrostu liczby członków, pomimo kilku krótkich spadków. "

"Członkostwo TAM wzrosło do ~ 27,4 mln z ~ 25 mln w zeszłym miesiącu" - dodali. "Członkostwo TAM było o 27,4 mln, czyli o 2,2 m wyższe sekwencyjnie w porównaniu z naszą poprzednią ankietą, ale nadal ~ 2 m niższe niż nasz rekordowy poziom ~ 29,5 mln pod koniec lutego."

Analitycy zauważyli również, że pokrywają się z Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime upadł.

"Wśród rzeczywistych subskrybentów Walmart + i respondentów, którzy są "bardzo prawdopodobni" do subskrypcji, 76% / 72% to również członkowie Amazon Prime - sekwencyjny spadek w porównaniu z naszą poprzednią ankietą (w której odpowiednio 80% / 76% było członkami Prime) i najniższy poziom nakładania się, jaki zaobserwowaliśmy w tym roku "- powiedzieli analitycy.

[slayer74]

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) stock rose pre 1.1% after Piper Sandler upgraded its stance on the retail giant to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Neutral’, saying it can rally more than 30% as it gains grocery market share.

[slayer74]

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Walmart's Mexico and Central America unit on Thursday posted a 5% year-on-year rise in its second-quarter net profit, boosted by slightly higher sales especially in June, though earnings were slightly behind forecasts.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) de Mexico, the largest retailer in Mexico, posted a net profit of 11.44 billion pesos ($668 million).

The company posted a profit of 0.66 pesos a share, just below the Refinitiv estimate of 0.69 pesos.

Quarterly revenue at the chain rose 9.25% from the year-earlier period to reach 213.724 billion pesos, boosted by a "Hot Sale" event in June, the company said in a statement, also marginally beating a Refinitiv estimate of 213.34 billion pesos.

It also saw a boost during its summer "heat wave" campaign, it said, as the North American country faced a three-week-long atypical heat wave in June which sent temperatures soaring.

"Revenue growth is gaining steam, which is what allowed us to recover our market differential in Mexico," Chief Financial Officer Paulo Garcia said in a video message.

Same-store sales increased 8.5% in Mexico and 9.5% in Central America, and the firm expanded its physical footprint with 22 new stores in Mexico.

"During the quarter we managed to outperform the self-service and club market measured by (Mexico retail group) ANTAD by 40 basis points," said Chief Executive Guilherme Loureiro. "We will continue working to widen the growth differential versus the market for both sales and volumes."

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter rose 8.5% to 21.9 billion pesos.

In the second half of the year, "it will be key to hold on to consumption in a high-inflation environment," analysts at brokerage Monex wrote.

The firm said its gross merchandise volume (GMV), a widely watched figure for the e-commerce industry's performance, rose 25% in Mexico, while sales in ecommerce increased 21%.

Walmex's prepaid mobile phone service, BAIT, topped 6.4 million active users in the quarter, Loureiro added, doubling the number from the year-earlier quarter.

The service has seen rapid growth since its launch in 2020, but trails far behind Mexico's largest provider, America Movil (NYSE:AMX), which posted 68.4 million prepaid subscribers in the quarter.

[slayer74]

(Reuters) -Walmart has taken further control of the Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart by buying out hedge fund Tiger Global and venture capital firm Accel's remaining stakes, according to media reports on Monday.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) paid $1.4 billion to buy the remaining Flipkart shares owned by Tiger Global in recent days, valuing the Indian company at about $35 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a letter the fund sent to investors. This is down from the near-$38 billion valuation that Flipkart attained in 2021.

A Walmart spokesperson confirmed to Reuters on Monday that the company bought additional Flipkart shares from some investors, including Tiger Global, but declined to share any financial details.

The U.S. retailer bought a 77% stake in Flipkart for about $16 billion in 2018, its biggest investment. It was not immediately clear what Walmart's stake was after the purchase.

Flipkart has grown to become one of India's largest online marketplaces, focusing on small towns and cities, unlike rival Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), which has more of an urban bent.

Like Amazon, Flipkart began by selling books but diversified rapidly into selling consumer electronics, fashion, groceries, and home essentials. It also offers services including travel booking and online prescriptions and, like other digital startups, has benefited from India's rapid smartphone adoption and cheap mobile data.

In its most recent quarter ended April 30, Flipkart generated double-digit sales growth, boosted by new shoppers in some cities and a 50% jump in ad sales, Walmart said.

More recently, executives have singled out Flipkart as a key driver in meeting Walmart's target of doubling the gross merchandise volume it sells in foreign markets to $200 billion in five years.

"We remain confident in the future of Flipkart and are even more positive about the opportunity in India today than when we first invested," Walmart said in a statement.

The sale of Accel's stake in Flipkart was reported by the Economic Times newspaper. The report did not say how much Walmart had paid.

Accel and Tiger Global did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

[slayer74]

Walmart (WMT). WMT stock is trading near its all-time high ahead of next week's earnings report.

[slayer74]

[tarnslator]
Walmart (WMT) ma podnieść swoją całoroczną prognozę zysków w czwartek, kiedy ogłosi wyniki kwartalne, ponieważ amerykańscy kupujący nadal kupują podstawowe produkty, nawet gdy rosną koszty pożyczek, standardy kredytowe zaostrzają się, a obraz zatrudnienia słabnie.

Największy na świecie detalista, mierzony sprzedażą, zaoferuje wgląd w popyt na produkty z powrotem do szkoły.

Comiesięczne badanie przeprowadzone przez dom maklerski Stifel w sierpniu wykazało, że więcej osób zamierza robić zakupy w Walmart w porównaniu do Costco (NASDAQ:KOSZT) i Target, mimo że planowali wydać w tym roku o 16% mniej na zakupy po powrocie do szkoły w porównaniu z rokiem ubiegłym.

"Uważamy, że oczekiwane niższe wydatki są godne uwagi i punkt obserwacyjny, ponieważ sugeruje to ciągłą słabość w ogólnych kategoriach towarów" - powiedział analityk Stifel Mark Astrachan.

Walmart jest w słodkim miejscu wśród sprzedawców detalicznych, ponieważ szersze napięcia ekonomiczne zmuszają więcej osób do robienia zakupów podstawowych produktów, takich jak artykuły spożywcze, jego podstawowa działalność. Sprzedaż papieru toaletowego, fasoli, makaronu i pasty do zębów przyciąga ludzi do swoich sklepów, dając Walmartowi możliwość sprzedaży krzyżowej bardziej dochodowych towarów, w tym długopisów, notesów i plecaków.

Ponieważ coraz więcej kupujących odwiedza supercentra Walmart, rynki sąsiedzkie i jego stronę internetową w celu zaspokojenia codziennych potrzeb, detalista opublikował optymistyczne prognozy na drugi kwartał i podniósł szacunki zysku i sprzedaży na rok obrotowy kończący się 31 stycznia 2024 r.

Rival Target, który ogłasza wyniki w środę, spodziewa się natomiast słabego drugiego kwartału i spadku sprzedaży w roku fiskalnym. Target ma mniejszą działalność spożywczą niż Walmart i koncentruje się na sprzedaży ubrań, elektroniki i produktów kosmetycznych Amerykanom dotkniętym inflacją.

Zamiast tego wiele osób wydaje więcej na posiłki poza domem, hobby i sprzęt sportowy, jak pokazują najnowsze dane o sprzedaży detalicznej w USA we wtorek.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) we wtorek powtórzył swoją stonowaną prognozę na ten rok po tym, jak stwierdził, że widzi ciągłą ostrożność ze strony konsumentów wobec dużych pozycji biletowych i kategorii uznaniowych.

Walmart, który znany jest z niskich cen, przyciągnął kupujących zarabiających ponad 100 000 USD rocznie podczas szczytowej inflacji w 2022 r.

Dyrektor generalny Walmart Doug McMillon ostrzegł w maju, że uporczywa inflacja, zwłaszcza w żywności, była "jednym z kluczowych czynników powodujących niepewność dla nas w drugiej połowie roku".

Od tego czasu inflacja żywności jednak zelżała. W lipcu Walmart ogłosił, że sprzeda 14 najpopularniejszych przedmiotów na listach artykułów szkolnych, w tym notebooki Pen + Gear Composition i 24-szt. kredki Crayola, w tych samych cenach, co w zeszłym roku.

"Jako sprzedawca detaliczny, komentarze Walmarta na temat trendów powrotu do szkoły będą czynnikiem wpływającym na rynek, a także zapowiedzią potencjalnych trendów wakacyjnych" - powiedział analityk D.A. Davidson Michael Baker, dodając, że trendy powrotu do szkoły prowadziły kierunek sprzedaży świątecznej w 23 z ostatnich 29 lat.

UBS, Credit Suisse, Telsey Advisory Group i CFRA Research należą do domów maklerskich, które oczekują, że Walmart podniesie swoją całoroczną prognozę po raz drugi w tym roku.

Walmart w maju prognozował, że sprzedaż netto wzrośnie o około 3,5% w tym roku podatkowym, w porównaniu z wcześniejszą prognozą w lutym, która wynosiła wzrost o 2,5% do 3%, częściowo z powodu wyższych cen. Podniósł również prognozę zysków.

Capital Wealth Planning, inwestor Walmart, posiada 258 milionów dolarów w akcjach Walmart po podniesieniu udziałów w firmie w czerwcu.

Założyciel firmy, Kevin Simpson, powiedział, że waha się, czy kupować więcej akcji, chyba że detalista pokaże, że jest w stanie zwiększyć marże bez polegania wyłącznie na podwyżkach cen spowodowanych inflacją.

Walmart handluje na poziomie 24,2-krotności 12-miesięcznych zysków terminowych w porównaniu do 14,9 razy dla Target i 19,9 razy dla Indeks S&P 500 Consumer Staples index, według Refinitiv DataStream. Simpson scharakteryzował obecną wielokrotność Walmarta jako "wysoką".
https://www.investing.com/news/economy/ ... ls-3154901

[slayer74]

Latest Release
Aug 17, 2023

EPS / Forecast
1.84 / 1.69

Revenue / Forecast
161.6B / 159.76B