Walmart shares hit fresh 52-week highs Thursday morning after the retailer beat earnings expectations thanks, in large part, to a booming e-commerce and grocery delivery business.
Online sales jumped 41 percent in the most recent quarter with the important same-store-sales metric rising by over 3 percent.
Adjusted earnings per share were $1.16, above the consensus forecast of $1.09.
In a conference call with investors, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon praised the company's employees for driving its continued transformation into an e-commerce giant. "Our associates are responding to change in an inspiring way and we're proud of them," he said.
Even President Trump congratulated the big-box retailer on its beat (and managed to get in a dig at the Fed Chair in the same breath).
Walmart has been investing heavily in its online infrastructure to better compete with Amazon, and groceries have been a cornerstone of that investment. The largest grocer in the U.S., grocery sales make up the majority of Walmart's domestic revenue stream. More than 3,000 Walmart locations now offer customers the option to order groceries online and pick them up in store; nearly half of those offer home grocery delivery. Still, only a tiny fraction of Americans do their food shopping online, offering Walmart and others a huge potential for growth.
McMillon noted that the company's recent strength ー four years and counting of quarterly gains ー has been "driven by food," but said it needs to make even greater progress in its e-commerce offerings, which is a segment still dominated by Amazon and in which Walmart faces additional competition from the likes of Target. A major test of both Walmart and Target's online investments is fast approaching with the holiday shopping season. Both of those companies are offering faster free delivery options and curbside pick-up, a growing segment of e-commerce that is especially attractive for last-minute shoppers.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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