Walmart Stores Inc. released earnings for Q4 (ending January 31) and for the full fiscal year on February 20, 2024. Walmart exceeded Q4 expectations on multiple fronts, driven by revenue growth of 5.7% with operating income up 30.4%. Global ecommerce sales increased 23% surpassing the $100B mile-marker. Global advertising also increased 33%.

These topline results accompany recent announcements of a 3-1 stock split and an acquisition of the Vizio television brand to further drive advertising venues and revenue.

“We crossed $100 billion in eCommerce sales and drove share gains as our customer experience metrics improved, even during our highest volume days leading up to the holidays,” said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.

Walmart closed the fiscal year of 2024 with total revenue of $648.1B, +6% with global advertising growing 28% and producing $3.4B in revenue.

Zeroing in on Walmart Stores US, which comprised 68% of total revenue in the fourth quarter, Walmart realized comp store growth of 4.0% on expectations of 3.2%. Revenue grew 3.4% to 117.6B. Growth was driven by transactions increasing 4.3% compared to the same period last year, but with an average ticket decline of -0.3%, producing an overall improvement to the number of units sold, a metric Walmart is watching closely in a high-inflation environment.

Ecommerce grew by 17%, continuing to be driven by pick-up and delivery services. Health and wellness and grocery lead the sales growth with general merchandise declining slightly, but gaining market share due to greater penetration with higher-income households.

Looking at the full year, Walmart US saw 5.1% growth on revenues of $441.8B. Throughout 2024, Walmart has realized gains with higher-income households looking to save money during a high-inflationary period. Grocery, health and wellness, consumables and beauty have been solid performing categories throughout the year, closed out with a strong holiday sales performance, year-over-year.

Looking ahead to 2025, Walmart is predicting 3%-4% revenue growth globally and 2%-2.5% at Walmart US, missing Wall Street expectations of 3%. The caution is driven by inflationary pressures causing a draw back in consumer spending on discretionary items.  

As quoted by CNBC, Walmart CFO John David Rainey said, “The consumer is still very pressured. And if you look at economic indicators, balance sheets are running thinner and savings rates are declining relative to previous periods. And so that’s why we take a pretty cautious outlook on the rest of the year.”

Walmart raised the annual dividend by 9%, the largest increase in over 10 years.

"Our team delivered a great quarter, finishing off a strong year. We're proud of our team and excited about building on our momentum as we work to bring prices down for our customers and our members." - Walmart CEO Doug McMillon

Key Takeaways: 

• Omnichannel continues to drive Walmart sales beating analysts expectations despite a more cautious Q4.
• The focus for FY25 remains the same: keep growing topline sales, drive Marketplace and advertising, test and scale automation.
• The retail market is more competitive than ever because the customer's cost savings are very slim.

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