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Wal-Mart Stores Third Quarter Earnings Preview
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WMT
When Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) releases its third quarter earnings on Thursday, November 15, 2012, it is expected to report earnings that are up 10.3% from a year ago. The consensus estimate is $1.07 per share, up from earnings of 97 cents per share a year ago.
Investors should care about a company's quarterly earnings because it shows the state of the business over the past 90 days and provides guidance for the following 90 days. SEE: Earnings: Quality Means Everything
What to Expect: This is an increase from $1.05 three months ago. For the fiscal year, analysts are expecting earnings of $4.92 per share.
Wal-Mart is expected to report revenue of $115.04 billion for the quarter, beating last year's figure of $110.23 billion by 4.4%. Revenue of $473.01 billion is expected for the fiscal year.
Company Performance: Wal-Mart has reported year-over-year revenue increases for the past four quarters. It increased 4.5% to $114.3 billion in the second quarter. Prior to that, the figure rose 8.5% in the first quarter, 5.9% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year and 8.1% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.
WMT has a P/E ratio of 15.3. One of the most important estimates of stock market valuation is the price/earnings ratio (P/E ratio). A high P/E ratio indicates a stock that is expensive, while a low P/E ratio indicates a stock that is cheap. SEE: Profit With The Power Of Price-To-Earnings
Since August 14, 2012, the stock price has fallen 2.4% to $72.27 from $74.01. October 31, 2012 to November 2, 2012 marked one of Wal-Mart's worst periods, as the share price fell $2.25.
The Competition: Wal-Mart Stores operates Walmart discount stores, supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club locations in the United States. The company's closest competitor in the retail (department and discount) industry, Dollar Tree (DLTR), will report earnings on November 15, 2012. Analysts are expecting earnings of 49 cents per share for Dollar Tree, up 11.4% from last year's earnings of 44 cents per share. Analysts are less optimistic about Wal-Mart than about Dollar Tree. Nine out of 19 analysts rate the latter a buy compared to 11 of 21 for the former.
Investors should care about a company's quarterly earnings because it shows the state of the business over the past 90 days and provides guidance for the following 90 days. SEE: Earnings: Quality Means Everything
What to Expect: This is an increase from $1.05 three months ago. For the fiscal year, analysts are expecting earnings of $4.92 per share.
Wal-Mart is expected to report revenue of $115.04 billion for the quarter, beating last year's figure of $110.23 billion by 4.4%. Revenue of $473.01 billion is expected for the fiscal year.
Company Performance: Wal-Mart has reported year-over-year revenue increases for the past four quarters. It increased 4.5% to $114.3 billion in the second quarter. Prior to that, the figure rose 8.5% in the first quarter, 5.9% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year and 8.1% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.
Since August 14, 2012, the stock price has fallen 2.4% to $72.27 from $74.01. October 31, 2012 to November 2, 2012 marked one of Wal-Mart's worst periods, as the share price fell $2.25.
The Competition: Wal-Mart Stores operates Walmart discount stores, supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club locations in the United States. The company's closest competitor in the retail (department and discount) industry, Dollar Tree (DLTR), will report earnings on November 15, 2012. Analysts are expecting earnings of 49 cents per share for Dollar Tree, up 11.4% from last year's earnings of 44 cents per share. Analysts are less optimistic about Wal-Mart than about Dollar Tree. Nine out of 19 analysts rate the latter a buy compared to 11 of 21 for the former.
by
Investopedia Staff
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