
Wal-Mart (WMT) Stock Rallies on Strong Quarterly Profit, Positive Outlook, Jim Cramer's Take
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) - Get Report shares are getting a boost, up 2.83% to $59.51 on Tuesday morning, after the retail giant released its third quarter 2015 financial data and narrowed its earnings guidance.
Profit for the latest quarter exceeded projections while revenue fell short.
The company reported earnings of $1.03, topping estimates of 98 cents a share.
Sales, however, came in at $117.4 billion, under predictions of $117.79 billion.
In the same quarter the year prior, the company earned $1.15 a share on revenue of $119 billion.
Year-over-year, traffic grew by 1.7%, and e-commerce sales and GMV globally increased by 10%.
"Strong traffic and our fifth consecutive quarter of positive comps in Walmart U.S. stores show we are taking the right steps to win with customers," CEO Doug McMillon stated.
TheStreet's Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager of the Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio, commented on Walmart earnings, saying: "Wal-Mart shows that if you cut estimates enough you can meet those estimates."
The strong U.S. dollar impacted financial results. Additionally, the company is facing intensifying competition from rivals like Amazon.com (AMZN) and dollar stores.
Along with these results, the company narrowed its full-year earnings per share guidance to between $4.50 and $4.65 a share, compared to its previous forecasts of $4.40 to $4.70 a share.
For the current quarter, it expects to earn between $1.40 and $1.55 a share.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates WAL-MART STORES INC as a Hold with a ratings score of C+. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:
We rate WAL-MART STORES INC (WMT) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, reasonable valuation levels and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, deteriorating net income and weak operating cash flow.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: WMT
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