Shares of Walmart Inc. (WMT) were down more than 3% in pre-market trading on Thursday after reporting lower profit for the fourth quarter. The retailer also issued first-quarter as well as full-year outlook and announced a new share repurchase programme of up to $30 billion.
For the first quarter, the company expects net sales to increase 3.5% to 4.5% from $164 billion reported in the same period of fiscal 2026. Adjusted earnings per share are projected in the range of $0.63 to $0.65, compared with $0.61 a year earlier.
For fiscal 2027, Walmart forecasts net sales growth of 3.5% to 4.5% from $706.4 billion in fiscal 2026. Adjusted EPS is expected between $2.75 and $2.85, up from $2.64 in 2026.
In the fourth quarter, net income fell to $4.237 billion, or $0.53 per share, from $5.254 billion, or $0.65 per share, a year earlier, primarily due to $2.117 billion in losses on equity and other investments. Excluding items, adjusted earnings were $0.74 per share.
Operating income rose to $8.708 billion from $7.859 billion a year earlier.
Revenue for the period grew 5.6% to $188.913 billion from $178.830 billion last year.
The company's Board approved fiscal year 2027 annual dividend of $0.99 per share, up 5% from $0.94 per share last year, and will be paid in four quarterly installments of $0.2475 per share.
On Wednesday, the company's shares closed at $126.62, down 1.73%.
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June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.