The last time Wal-Mart (WMT) made official forecasts for Wall St. there was a sense that the recession might be taking down the world’s largest retail despite its appeal to cost-conscious consumers.

Then Wal-Mart delivered strong January same-store sales and investors believed it might be getting some momentum back.

Based on the figures from its most recent quarter, Wal-Mart remains head-and-shoulders above the rest of the retail industry.

While Wal-Mart did a little better than some forecasts, analysts often do not appreciate the ability of a company with such huge scale bucking a downturn.

For its fourth quarter, ending January 31, revenue was $107.9 billion, an increase of 1.7 percent from $106.2 billion in the fourth quarter last year. Reported EPS from continuing operations for the period were $0.96, exceeding the company’s most recent guidance of $0.91 to $0.94.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the numbers is that the company’s old-line Wal-Mart brand posted a sales increase of 6%. International sales, which have carried the company for nearly half a decade, fell 8%.

To bring a bit more shock and awe to investors, Wal-Street said it expects reported EPS to be between $0.72 and $0.77 for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010, and between $3.45 and $3.60 for the full year.

The Wal-Mart numbers say at least one positive thing about the economy. Consumer spending has been beaten down, but no crushed. There is still enough cash in the pockets of those pressed to spend money that they are willing to spend over $100 billion during the worst recession on record.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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