WMT
The quarter was fine. The guidance, not so much.
Walmart did what Walmart does: posted a solid quarter, beat on revenue, and then handed the market a slightly sour smoothie with its next-quarter forecast. Adjusted EPS landed at 66 cents, right in line with estimates, while revenue climbed 7.3% to $177.8 billion — a decent flex, even by Walmart standards.
But investors are allergic to anything that smells like caution. Walmart guided second-quarter adjusted EPS to 72–74 cents, just under Wall Street’s 75-cent target, and revenue to $182.8 billion–$184.6 billion, also below consensus. Translation: the beast is still growing, but maybe not fast enough to keep everyone happy this morning.
Why BTIG is still pounding the table
BTIG’s Robert Drbul basically said: don’t confuse a softer quarter with a broken story. He reiterated a Buy rating and held his $145 price target, arguing Walmart’s operating income can grow faster than sales through FY28 thanks to a few high-margin engines doing the heavy lifting:
- advertising
- membership programs
- marketplace operations
- Walmart Fulfillment Services
That’s the kind of mix shift investors love because it means Walmart isn’t just selling more toothpaste and TV dinners. It’s turning its massive retail machine into a profit machine.
The big picture
The stock dipped after the report, which is what happens when “beat” gets outshouted by “but next quarter may be a little cloudy.” Still, if Walmart keeps squeezing more profit out of its omnichannel empire, the long game may matter more than one cautious forecast. Big picture: the retailer is trying to prove it can be boring, huge, and increasingly more profitable — which, in this market, is basically a superpower.