Dallas, TX, March 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For the 12th straight year, all U.S. Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations are launching the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign, including right here in North Texas. The goal of the annual cause marketing campaign is to provide people facing hunger with access to the food and resources they need to thrive. Here’s how it works: The campaign will run in stores and online from March 1-March 31, with three ways for shoppers to participate: By donating at check ...

Group 1 - Walmart CEO Doug McMillon indicated that consumers are experiencing stress due to persistently high food prices, leading to changes in purchasing behavior such as opting for smaller pack sizes and prioritizing value purchases [1][2] - McMillon highlighted that lower-income consumers are feeling more frustration due to ongoing high food prices, which have persisted for years, contributing to a desire for improvement in their financial situation [2] - Both Walmart and Amazon expressed caution in their first-quarter 2025 outlooks, attributing weak guidance to inflation, weak consumer demand, and foreign exchange challenges [2][3] Group 2 - Walmart's Chief Financial Officer noted that lower-income consumers are still financially stretched, with data showing persistent increases in general merchandise despite elevated grocery prices [3] - Health and wellness sales surged, and eCommerce grew by 20%, while discretionary categories like electronics and home goods experienced only modest gains [3] - Target's CEO reported that consumers are becoming more resourceful and cautious with their spending, with 65% of consumers living paycheck to paycheck, indicating ongoing financial strain [4]

Now in its 12th year, the annual cause marketing campaign has helped Feeding America® partner food banks secure more than 2 billion meals* for people facing hunger in local communities. CHICAGO, Feb. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 12th consecutive year, all U.S. Walmart and Sam's Club locations are teaming up with their customers, members, suppliers and associates for the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign to support the Feeding America network of partner food banks. The annual donation campaign, runnin ...

Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool. ...

Core Insights - Amazon and Walmart expressed caution in their Q1 2025 outlooks due to inflation and slowing consumer spending, with Amazon projecting revenue between $151 billion and $155.5 billion, below the $158 billion forecast, and Walmart forecasting U.S. sales growth of 3% to 4%, below analyst expectations [1][2] Group 1: Economic Factors - The weak guidance from both companies is attributed to inflation, weak consumer demand, foreign exchange challenges, tariffs, and a shift in consumer focus towards essentials, leading to softer demand for discretionary items [2][3] - Retailers are experiencing uncertainty due to changing policies, particularly tariffs, which complicates demand forecasting and raises cost implications for businesses [3] Group 2: Consumer Behavior - Consumers are prioritizing essentials like groceries and health products while reducing spending on discretionary items such as apparel and electronics, resulting in a 'soft' Q1 for both Amazon and Walmart [4] - Tighter budgets are prompting retailers to focus on essential promotions and value-driven marketing, with fewer discounts on discretionary goods due to weaker demand [4] Group 3: Amazon Highlights - Amazon launched its generative AI-powered Alexa+ but faced challenges in integrating AI, reflecting broader industry difficulties [5] - The company discontinued its social commerce feature, Inspire, due to struggles with user engagement and a shift towards its AI-powered shopping assistant, Rufus [6][7] Group 4: Walmart Highlights - Walmart reported a 20% increase in U.S. eCommerce sales, driven by store-fulfilled pickup and delivery services, with global eCommerce growing 16% [9] - The company is streamlining its post-audit process by consolidating to a single auditor, which aims to increase transparency but raises concerns about efficiency [11] - Suppliers may face challenges with the new web portal for post-audit processes, potentially leading to unnoticed claims [12]

Retail Sector Performance - The recent earnings focus has been on the Retail sector, with big-box operators like Walmart and Home Depot reporting quarterly results [2] - Walmart's shares declined post-earnings due to disappointing guidance, despite solid results and continued market share gains [3] - Home Depot's shares increased after reporting better-than-expected comparable sales, marking a positive turnaround after eight consecutive quarters of declines [4] Earnings Trends - Over 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings, showing a notable growth trend with total earnings up +13.6% year-over-year and revenues up +5.5% [7] - In the Retail sector, earnings for companies reporting are up +32.3% year-over-year, with 72% beating EPS and revenue estimates [7] - Excluding Amazon, the Retail sector's earnings growth adjusts to +4.6% and revenue growth to +5.4% [7] Tech Sector Outlook - The Tech sector is expected to see earnings growth of +24.6% in Q4, continuing a trend of double-digit growth for six consecutive quarters [9][10] - Despite a strong outlook, recent data indicates a shift in earnings estimate revisions for the Tech sector [11] Future Earnings Expectations - Total S&P 500 earnings for Q1 2025 are expected to increase by +6.5% year-over-year, although estimates have been declining since the quarter began [14] - A broad-based revision trend shows cuts in estimates across 15 of 16 sectors, with the Tech sector also experiencing downward pressure [17] - The expectation for 2025 is nearly all sectors to enjoy earnings growth, with seven sectors projected to achieve double-digit growth [19]

Core Insights - Pacvue has launched Walmart Display Campaign Management, allowing advertisers to create and manage onsite display campaigns through its platform, enhancing workflow and audience targeting capabilities [1][2][4] Company Overview - Pacvue is a leading commerce acceleration platform that integrates retail media, commerce management, and measurement, serving over 70,000 brands and agencies across more than 95 retailers globally [5] New Features and Benefits - The new campaign management tool enables advertisers to manage campaign attributes, item sets, creatives, and audience targeting directly through Pacvue's integration with Walmart Connect [2][3] - Enhanced features include comprehensive campaign management, advanced audience targeting using Walmart's first-party data, actionable reporting, and optimizations for budget management and campaign rules [6]

Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Neutral" [5][7]. Core Insights - The company has demonstrated steady growth in performance, with global e-commerce continuing to gain momentum. For FY25 Q4, revenue increased by 4.1% year-on-year to $180.6 billion, with a gross margin improvement of 53 basis points to 23.9% [7]. - The company's revenue for FY2025 is projected to grow by 4.96% to $674.54 billion, with net profit increasing to $19.44 billion [7]. - The growth in e-commerce revenue was significant, rising by 16% to $117.3 billion, accounting for 17.4% of total revenue [7]. - The U.S. segment saw a revenue increase of 5.0% to $123.5 billion, with e-commerce growing by 20% and advertising revenue up by 24% [7]. - International revenue was slightly impacted by currency fluctuations, with a year-on-year decline of 0.7% to $32.2 billion, although e-commerce sales grew by 20% in the second half of the year [7]. - The company expects revenue growth of approximately 3.0%-4.0% for FY2026 and Q1 FY26, with adjusted EPS projected at $0.57-$0.58 [7]. Financial Summary - For FY2025, the company forecasts total revenue of $680,985 million, with a growth rate of 5.07% [5]. - The projected net profit for FY2025 is $19,436 million, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 19.05% [5]. - The company anticipates continued growth in net profit for FY2026 and beyond, with estimates of $21,039 million for FY2026 and $23,275 million for FY2027 [5][8]. - Key financial metrics include a projected P/E ratio of 39.17 for FY2025, decreasing to 29.33 by FY2028 [8].

Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Neutral" [5] Core Insights - Walmart's performance shows steady growth, with global e-commerce continuing to gain momentum. In FY25 Q4, the company's revenue increased by 4.1% year-on-year to $180.6 billion, with a gross margin improvement of 53 basis points to 23.9% [7] - The company's revenue for FY2025 is projected to grow by 4.96% to $674.54 billion, with net profit increasing to $19.44 billion [7] - The growth in e-commerce revenue was 16%, contributing to 17.4% of total revenue, up from 15.6% in FY24 [7] - Walmart's U.S. operations saw a revenue increase of 5.0% to $123.5 billion, with e-commerce growing by 20% and advertising revenue up by 24% [7] - International revenue slightly declined by 0.7% to $32.2 billion due to currency fluctuations, but e-commerce sales grew by 20% in the second half of the year [7] - Sam's Club U.S. operations reported a revenue increase of 5.7% to $23.1 billion, with e-commerce growth of 24% [7] - For FY2026, the company expects revenue growth of approximately 3.0%-4.0% [7] - Earnings per share (EPS) for FY2026 is projected to be around $2.50-$2.60, with capital expenditures expected to be 3.0%-3.5% of revenue [7] Financial Projections - Revenue projections for FY2026, FY2027, and FY2028 are $708,224 million, $742,857 million, and $783,862 million, respectively, with year-on-year growth rates of 4.00%, 4.89%, and 5.52% [7][8] - Net profit projections for the same years are $21,039 million, $23,275 million, and $25,958 million, with growth rates of 8.25%, 10.63%, and 11.53% [7][8] - The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios for FY2026, FY2027, and FY2028 are expected to be 36.19, 32.71, and 29.33, respectively [7][8]

Core Viewpoint - An analyst's upgrade of Walmart's stock recommendation has positively influenced investor sentiment, resulting in a more than 4% increase in stock value on a day when the S&P 500 index declined by nearly 0.5% [1] Recommendation Upgrade - DZ Bank's Mike Pohn upgraded Walmart's stock recommendation from hold to buy, setting a price target of $110 per share, which is approximately 13% higher than its recent closing price [2] - The timing of the upgrade coincided with Walmart's release of its fiscal 2025 results, suggesting a connection between the two events [2] Financial Performance - In the fourth quarter, Walmart achieved a revenue growth of 4% year over year, reaching nearly $181 billion, and improved its non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) by 10% to $0.66, both surpassing consensus analyst estimates [3] - Despite the positive revenue and EPS growth, Walmart's guidance for adjusted EPS for fiscal 2026 is between $2.50 and $2.60, which falls short of the average analyst estimate of $2.77 [4] Future Outlook - The company is recognized as a successful retail operation with a strong potential for future sales and profitability growth, supported by a recent 13% dividend increase [5]