Walmart's (WMT, $99.60) earnings look strong
Walmart published an impressive FY19 fourth quarter earnings report, recording revenue growth of over 3.1% on a y-o-y basis.
The company’s comparable-store sales recorded an impressive 4.2% growth rate on a y-o-y basis – an acceleration from the 3.4% growth achieved in Q3. Additionally, Walmart declared a 2% dividend increase, keeping with the quarterly-increasing dividend trend of the last 46 years.
But what impressed the street the most was the company's sustained growth momentum in the e-commerce segment, which reported impressive 43% y-o-y growth. In Q2 and Q3, the Company reported e-commerce sales growth of 40% and 43%, respectively. With this sustained growth momentum, the segment reported an impressive 40% y-o-y growth for the full year.
On the other hand, Walmart competitors like Target (TGT) reported e-commerce sales for November and December period were up 29% on a y-o-y basis. This is good news for Walmart as it suggests greater growth in its online sales than Target, although not on an exact quarter to quarter comparison.
Other peers like Costco’s (COST) e-commerce sales recorded 28% y-o-y growth, while Amazon's (AMZN) revenue from online stores recorded only 14% y-o-y increase in the fourth quarter.
In short, Walmart is looking good in its e-commerce segment and time will reveal how well it can beat competition from Target, Costco and Amazon.
