Walmart Shares Pop On Q4 Earnings Beat; Hikes Dividend

Walmart Inc WMT reported fourth-quarter FY22 sales growth of 0.5% year-on-year, to $152.87 billion, beating the consensus of $151.54 billion.
Walmart U.S. sales increased 5.7% Y/Y, Walmart international sales fell 22.6%, and sam’s club gained 16.5%.
Walmart U.S. comp sales (ex. fuel) grew 5.6%.
Adjusted EPS of $1.53 beat the analyst consensus of $1.50.
Operating, selling, general and administrative expenses rose 0.4% Y/Y to $31.5 billion.
The operating margin was 3.9%, and operating income for the quarter rose 7.3% to $5.9 billion.
The company held $14.8 billion in cash and equivalents as of January 31, 2022. The cash flow from operations for the year totaled $24.2 billion, with a free cash flow of $11.1 billion.
Dividend: Walmart board approved an annual cash dividend for FY23 of $2.24 per share, up 2% from the $2.20 paid for the last fiscal year. The dividend will be paid in four quarterly installments of $0.56 per share.
FY23 Outlook: Walmart sees FY23 consolidated net sales growth of about 3% in constant currency.
The company forecasts Walmart U.S comp sales growth slightly above 3%, ex. fuel.
The company expects EPS excluding divestitures to grow 5% - 6%.
The company plans share repurchases of at least $10 billion in FY23.
Price Action: WMT shares are trading higher by 2.41% at $136.75 in premarket on the last check Thursday.

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