NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart reported its slowest growth in U.S. comparable sales in six years during its most recent quarter, and the retailer’s guidance for the rest of the year was seen as cautious by Wall Street.
Walmart’s second quarter fanned anxiety about the financial well-being of low-income shoppers who are spending cautiously as prices rise at the gas pump and everywhere else.
Company shares tumbled more than 8% Thursday and helped drag the U.S. stock market lower as well.
Walmart’s comparable sales in the U.S., which measure sales at stores open at least a year along with online sales tied to those locations, rose 2.6% in the second quarter. That is down from 4.1% in the first quarter.
Excluding the wellness category that includes Walmart’s pharmacies, comparable sales increased 3.4% in the second quarter. Sales were hit by federal legislation that requires pharmacies to dispense some high-cost Medicare drugs at capped prices, the retailer said. That was still below Wall Street projections of a 3.8% increase, according to FactSet.
Still, Walmart’s quarterly profit, boosted by a $2.9 billion tariff refund, topped expectations, and so did revenue. Walmart says it continues to take market share.
Walmart is using the U.S. tariff refunds to temporarily lower prices on 11,000 items, it said Thursday, particularly on groceries and general merchandise.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this year that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority when he imposed double-digit import taxes, meaning U.S. companies were owed refunds from the government.
Yet Walmart is trying to contain prices as it is squeezed by the same pressures hammering the American consumer, namely rising energy costs due to fighting in Iran. The company expects to book an additional $2 billion in incremental fuel costs this year.
Slowing comparable sales, particularly in Walmart stores, also reflect a strategic shift toward e-commerce, Walmart+ memberships and advertising. Walmart’s domestic e-commerce business, which has become a growth engine for the retailer, rose 24%.
U.S. e-commerce now represents 23% in the overall U.S business., Walmart said, double the share five years ago.
“As these businesses scale, they become a more meaningful part of our mix, and they’re changing the shape of our business,” CEO John Furner said Thursday.
Walmart is considered a barometer of consumer spending given its vast customer base. More than 150 million customers are on its website or in its stores every week, according to Walmart.
Walmart’s trajectory may draw even more attention after U.S. data released Friday showed retail sales were surprisingly weak in July. On the same day, a new read on consumers from the University of Michigan revealed growing pessimism about the economy.
Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said Friday that when gasoline prices rise above $4, the company can feel it.
“There’s a psychological impact to that … that there are choices that consumers are making,” Rainey said. “June was a little more obvious as we look at the quarter in terms of customers making trade-offs. And it’s why we have leaned so heavily into lower prices.”
The price of a gallon of gasoline ticked higher again overnight, according to AAA, reaching $4.10.
With prices higher, Walmart continues to capture a larger share of wealthier consumers. The biggest gains in market share for Walmart are coming from households with annual incomes over $100,000, the retailer has said.
Walmart’s quarterly net income was $6.37 billion, or 80 cents per share, in the three-month period ended July 31. Adjusted per-share results were 81 cents, easily topping the 74 cents Wall Street had expected, according to FactSet.
Sales rose 5.9% to $187.94 billion. Analysts were predicting $186.62 billion, according to FactSet.
For the third quarter, Walmart expects earnings per share of 62 cents to 64 cents. It projects sales to be up 3% to 3.75%, putting sales in a range of $184.9 billion to $186.23 billion.
For the full year, Walmart now expects earnings per share to be in the range of $2.80 to $2.87, while sales should be up anywhere from 4% to 5%. That would mean a forecast for sales in the range of $741.7 billion to $748.8 billion, according to FactSet.
Analysts expected $2.90 per share and sales of $752.06 billion for the year, according to FactSet.