Walmart (WMT) is gearing up to share another quarter of bulk-size results.
“Walmart is in a double tailwind position to gain both low- and high-end consumers over the coming years,” Deutsche Bank analyst Krisztina Katai told Yahoo Finance over the phone prior to the report.
America’s biggest retailer is expected to hold on to its recent momentum when it reports fiscal first quarter 2025 results on Thursday morning. Wall Street expects revenue to jump nearly 5% year over year to $159.58 billion, with adjusted earnings per share up by 7.25% to $0.53.
Total US same-store sales, which includes Sam’s Club, are expected to jump 3.42%, with its namesake stores going up by 3.5%, boosted by higher traffic and ticket size.
These results come as the company plans to cut hundreds of jobs and asked employees to relocate to its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., the WSJ reported on Tuesday.
Walmart is the largest US employer, with 1.6 million US workers.
During the quarter, the company also conducted a stock split for the 12th time in 50 years. Its shares are up 13.9% this year, outperforming the S&P 500’s (^GSPC) 10% gain.
Ahead of the report, UBS analyst Michael Lasser wrote that “the stock has room to run” in a note to clients. He added that Q1 should demonstrate “further evidence that the stock fits well with what the market is looking for right now, a consistent business that is more insulated from ongoing macro pressures than the rest of the pack.”
HSBC analyst Daniela Bretthauer called the stock a top pick ahead of the report.
“The future of grocery shopping is becoming increasingly omnichannel, and Walmart is America’s largest grocer,” Bretthauer told Yahoo Finance. “You have a big player online, which is Amazon, but in groceries … Walmart has a big advantage.”
The company benefits from its pricing power and economy scale, as well as tech investments and its $9 billion store makeovers. Walmart’s US e-commerce business is expected to jump 13.33% in Q1.
Recently, the company introduced a new private label brand named bettergoods, which offers higher quality, trendier items priced from under $2 to under $15.
Earnings breakdown
Here’s what Wall Street expects from Walmart in its fiscal year 2025 first quarter, compared to Q1 2024, per Bloomberg consensus data:
Revenue: $159.58 billion compared to $152.3 billion
Adjusted earnings per share: $0.53 compared to $0.49
Same-store US sales growth: 3.42% compared to 7.3%
Walmart US same-store sales: 3.5% compared to 7.4%
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Traffic: 3.17%
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Ticket growth: 1.32%
Sam’s Club US same-store sales growth: 3.3% compared to 7%
Walmart US e-commerce growth: 13.33% compared to 27%
For the full fiscal year 2025, the company expects net sales to grow between 3% and 4% and for operating income to grow from 4% to 6%.
“We expect Walmart US and Sam’s Club US net sales growth to fall in line with the enterprise and for International growth to be above enterprise growth. We expect all three segments to contribute to operating income growth, led by Walmart US, Walmart International, and then Sam’s US,” Walmart CFO John David Rainey said on a call with investors following 2024 Q4 results.
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Brooke DiPalma is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.