There are no prizes for guessing which of Wal-Mart Stores Inc’s (NYSE:WMT) international territories is causing the most concern for the retail behemoth.
In its second quarter results today, Wal-Mart said like-for-like (LFL) sales grew year-on-year in nine of the 11 international markets in which it operates; China was down a tad, but the performance of the group’s Asda chain in the very competitive UK market was abysmal, with LFL sales (excluding fuel) down 7.5%.
In its home territory, however, everything in the garden appears to be lovely, with the world’s largest retailer reporting its largest like-for-like sales gain in four years stateside.
LFL sales were up 1.6% in the US in the second quarter from the same period of 2015, which was an improvement on the 1% growth rate seen in the first quarter.
Earnings per share (EPS) topped The Street’s expectations, coming in at US$1.07 versus the consensus forecast of US$1.02, though this number was penny lower than last year’s second quarter EPS.
Revenue was up 0.5% to US$120.85bn, which was a little better than the US$120.16bn retail analysts had been expecting.
"We're pleased with the positive momentum in our business. Our strategy in the US is working as we delivered an eighth consecutive quarter of positive [LFL], and international also performed well," said Doug McMillon, the retail behemoth’s chief executive officer.
The retailer cheered the market by upping its earnings guidance for the year to US$4.15-4.35 a share, from US$4.00-4.30 a share previously.
Shares were up 1.7% at US$74.20 after 40 minutes’ trading.