Walmart reported increased revenue and profit in its 2020 fiscal first quarter, with increased online sales and strong numbers in food, beverage and general merchandise.
Walmart’s e-commerce grew 37 percent, boosted by online grocery sales as it ups its competition with Amazon and other online retailers for customers. Earlier this month, the Bentonville, AR based mega merchant announced free next-day delivery will be offered in select markets. Amazon recently announced plans to launch free next-day delivery for its Prime members. Results were also positively impacted by a strong performance in home and fashion categories on walmart.com.
Walmart saw its biggest rise in same-store sales in nine years – up 3.4 percent this year versus 2.1 percent last year. It was the fourth consecutive quarter to show a rise of 3 percent or more.
Operating income was better than expected, rising 5.5 percent.
For the period ended April 16, 2019, Walmart posted revenue of $123.9 billion, a rise of 1 percent, or $1.2 billion, over the same period a year ago. Net income was $3.8 billion, up 80 percent over its first quarter of 2019.
At Sam’s Club, comp store sales rose 0.3 percent and e-commerce sales grew about 28 percent.
“We’re changing to enable more innovation, speed and productivity, and we’re seeing it in our results,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart. “We’re especially pleased with the combination of comparable sales growth from stores and e-commerce in the U.S. Our team is demonstrating an ability to serve customers today while building new capabilities for the future, and I want to thank them for a strong start to the year.”
The only negative element of the first quarter results occurred at Walmart International, where sales declined 4.9 percent to $28.8 billion.
