Wal-Mart Nudges Fourth-Quarter Earnings Target Lower

Wal-Mart (WMT Quote), the world's biggest retailer, expects to report fourth-quarter earnings that may fall slightly short of analysts' expectations.

On a recorded call discussing its fiscal third-quarter earnings -- which met expectations -- Wal-Mart CFO Thomas Schoewe said that earnings will likely be between 46 cents and 48 cents a share in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in January. The current analyst consensus as reported by First Call/Thomson Financial is for earnings of 48 cents a share.

That earnings estimate is in line with Wal-Mart's previously announced same-store sales target of between 3% and 5% growth, Schoewe said. Same-store sales measure sales at stores open at least a year.

In the third quarter, Wal-Mart reported earnings of 31 cents a share, in line with analysts' expectations. It was "one of the most difficult quarters in recent retail history," with consumers anxious about higher prices for gasoline and heating, said CEO Lee Scott. While fewer customers shopped than in the first half of the year, those that did were still making discretionary purchases. "We continue to believe that the customer has liquidity," he said.

Wal-Mart shares, which have fallen some 30% since Jan. 1, were up $2.56, or 5.7%, at $47.88 Tuesday morning.