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Walmart posts strong quarterly results, lifts guidance

Systemwide sales forecasts raised by 3%, operating income by 1%

A Walmart package sits in a customer's front yard after being delivered by a DroneUp drone (Photo: Walmart)

Walmart Inc. reported Thursday fiscal 2024 second-quarter revenue growth of 5.7%, paced by a 6.4% gain in U.S. same-store sales, and an overall operating income increase of 6.7% year on year.

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) also raised its third-quarter and full-year guidance. For the quarter, the company raised systemwide sales figures by 3%, operating income by 1% and adjusted earnings per share to $1.45 to $1.50 per share. For the full year, it expects sales to increase by 4% to 4.5%, operating income to increase by 7% to 7.5% and adjusted EPS to between $6.36 and $6.46.

The company saw gains across all its lines. Even general merchandise activity, which was down year-over-year, is “holding up better than I would have guessed,” said Doug McMillon, Walmart president and CEO, in a post-earnings analysts call.

The gains came despite a decline in truck trips made to Walmart, according to data from the FreightWaves SONAR market intelligence tool. A similar decline in activity was experienced at Walmart rival Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT).


Meanwhile, Target, which reported results Wednesday, saw a 5.4% drop in sales and posted a weak outlook for the rest of the year.

Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.