Walmart reported flat quarterly revenue and earnings that missed expectations of analysts on Thursday. The largest U.S. retailer laid the blame on the harsh, severe winter that put a chill on business activity and cost the company nearly 3 cents a share.
The giant in retail became yet another victim of the severe winter as its profit tumbled by 5% thanks to the chill affecting the amount of store traffic. First quarter per share earnings for the company were $1.10, which was down from the $1.14 per share in the same period one year ago.
Revenue was up ending the quarter at $114.7 billion, compared to last year during the same quarter of $114.19.
Following its announcement of earnings, shares at the company were down by close to 3% during trading before the bell.
Walmart said that is comparable sales, those that have been open for at least 13 months, in the United States, which is its largest unit, had finished the quarter flat.
The weather impacted sales adversely at same-stores by nearly 20 basis point, company officials announced.
A severely cold winter with a great deal of inclement weather was tough on retailers. Analysts forecasted that Walmart would have just a slight increase in revenue and sales, following the winter.
In 2014, Walmart unveiled a number of new and different initiatives to add to its growth. In April, the company announced it had plans to expand the amount of organic foods it carried.
The company also announced that it would be accelerating the expansion of its stores that fall under its small format model.
The latest jobs report from April tends to indicate that more money will be available to spend in May.
-PORTAL.png?v=2024-02-28&h=45&w=95&zc=2){kind=small}
