What You Need To Know From Walmart's Q1 Report

Walmart Inc WMT reported Thursday its first-quarter results, which sent shares higher by more than 1.5 percent.

What Happened

Walmart said it earned $1.14 per share in the first quarter on revenue of $120.7 billion versus Wall Street's estimate of $1.13 per share on revenue of $120.51 billion. Operating income remained flat from a year ago at $5.2 billion and operating cash flow fell from $5.4 billion to $5.2 billion.

Walmart U.S. comp sales rose 2.1 percent, comp traffic rose 0.8 percent. Comp sales at Sam's Club rose 3.8 percent on a traffic growth of 5.6 percent. Online sales also grew 33 percent in the quarter which marks a reversal from the prior quarter's disappointing performance in the prior quarter.

International sales rose from $27.1 billion a year ago to $30.3 billion while operating income rose from $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion.

Due to a change in accounting laws, Walmart is required to disclose unrealized gains and losses from certain equity investments within its net income. The company said its stake in China-based JD.Com Inc(ADR) JD has increased by $3.7 billion as of January 31.

Why It's Important

Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon commented the company continues to change "from within" to become a "faster and more digital" company while at the same time "shaping our portfolio of businesses for the future."