Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) says its U.S. business is thriving in a challenging environment, as aggressive pricing helped bring shoppers into its stores, while efforts to grow its digital business are paying off in robust growth.
The retailer's U.S. comparable sales — an important metric for retail stocks — grew for the 10th consecutive quarter, climbing 1.4% and bettering estimates of 1.3% growth.
Notably, Wal-Mart was able to increase traffic to its U.S. stores at a time when others are seeing fewer shoppers. Comp traffic grew 3% on a two-year stacked basis.
Meanwhile, the retailer’s e-commerce sales rose a whopping 63% compared to a mere 29% growth last quarter. Despite making a number of acquisitions, the company said the majority of these sales were organic through Walmart.com.
Total fiscal first-quarter revenue grew 1.4%, to $117.54 billion, falling slightly short of a $117.74 billion forecast by analysts.
Earnings per share rose 2% to $1.00, up from 98 cents a year ago, and beating industry estimates of 96 cents a share.
The big-box retailer says it has been making strides to expand and improve its e-commerce platform. The company recently acquired Jet.com, bringing in new talent to help manage its digital operations.
Wal-Mart recently rolled out free-two-day shipping on order over $35, prompting rival Amazon to slash its free shipping threshold for shoppers who don't have an Amazon Prime membership.
Wal-Mart also announced that, during the first quarter, the chain’s online gross margin values rose 69% for the period.
The retailer’s shares moved ahead $1.13, or 1.5%, to $76.34, soon after Thursday’s open
