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Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year rose 6.4%, excluding
fuel, in the third quarter ended Oct. 31. Analysts had estimated
an increase of 4.16%, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
The surge in demand for essentials at Walmart seen at the peak
of the coronavirus lockdowns has carried into the second half of
the year, with consumers relying on its same-day delivery
options and store pick-up services to buy everything from
groceries to sneakers.
"We think these new customer behaviors will largely persist and
we're well positioned to serve customers with the value and
experience they're looking for," Chief Executive Officer Doug
McMillon said in a statement.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also forced retailers to drastically
rethink how they do business during the key holiday season, with
many big retailers including Walmart, Kohl's <KSS.N> and Target
<TGT.N> moving their promotions up to as early as October.
Walmart said on Tuesday it had incurred about $600 million in
additional COVID-19 expenses that included higher wages for
warehouse workers and bonuses for store employees, as well as
spending more on keeping its facilities clean. The retailer had
recorded about $1.5 billion in such expenses in the second
quarter.
Still, operating income jumped 22.5% to $5.79 billion in the
third quarter, while Walmart reported adjusted earnings per
share of $1.34.
Total revenue rose 5.2% to $134.71 billion, beating estimates of
$132.23 billion.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru and Melissa Fares
in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
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