Wal-Mart (WMT): It's Beginning To Look At Lot Like Christmas

Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) beat Wall St. expectations for earnings and revenue.

Perhaps more important, it indicated that the fourth quarter would be OK. The Christmas retail season just began to look a bit better.

Wal-Mart reported diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for the third quarter of fiscal year 2010 of $0.84, exceeding the company’s guidance of $0.78 to $0.82. Walmart earned $0.77 per share from continuing operations in the third quarter last year. Net sales for the third quarter were $98.667 billion, an increase of 1.1 percent from $97.619 billion in the third quarter last year.

International and Wal-Mart sales grew during the period. Sam’s Club revenue dropped slightly. Comparable store sales were up a fraction

Wal-Mart’s CFO Tom Schoewe said, “Based on our view of the business, we expect diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2010 to be between $1.08 and $1.12. As a result, we are raising the range of our guidance for diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for the full fiscal year to $3.57 to $3.61, from $3.50 to $3.60.”

Fourth quarter retail is either going to be better than expected or Wal-Mart’s market share is going to crush those of its rivals.

Douglas A. McIntyre