Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT, ETR:WMT) shares fell in early trade after the retailer provided conservative sales and profit guidance for the full year.
For fiscal 2026, Walmart expects net sales growth in the range of 3% to 4%, below Wall Street estimates of 4.2%.
The retailer guided earnings per share (EPS) in the range of $2.50 to $2.60, below the consensus of $2.74.
The company’s soft outlook overshadowed better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter.
For Q4, Walmart reported EPS of $0.66, above estimates of $0.65, as revenue of $180.6 billion was above the expected $179.6 billion.
Bank of America analysts repeated their ‘Buy’ rating on Walmart following its earnings report, citing its strong near and long-term outlook.
“We reaffirm our ‘Buy’ on Walmart as broad-based share gains continue and long-term profitability improves supported by growth of high-margin digital advertising and 3P Marketplace seller fees and improvements in core eCommerce losses,” they wrote.
“We believe Walmart's investments in supply chain/automation and digital/3P marketplace offerings further support sales and gross margin upside potential.”
They noted that Walmart’s guidance reflected headwinds from Leap Day, its Vizio acquisition and foreign exchange.
Shares of Walmart traded down 6.2% at about $98 on Thursday morning.