Walmart ETFs Gain As Retail Giant's Earnings Jump
Shares of Walmart Inc. popped more than 6% to a record high on Thursday, pushing retail ETFs higher, after the world's largest company by revenue reported first quarter profit and sales that topped analyst estimates.
Earnings per share of 60 cents beat the 52 cents consensus estimate, according to MarketWatch. Revenue increased 6% year-over-year to $161.5 billion, ahead of the $159.5 billion expected.
The gain was Walmart's biggest since Nov. 15, 2022, when it rose by 6.5%. Costco, another giant retailer focused on value-conscious consumers, jumped 2% on the day to a record high of its own.
Walmart is a widely-owned stock within U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds. It's held in 294 ETFs, including dozens with substantial exposure to the stock, according to the etf.com stock finder.
Walmart is classified as a consumer staples stock, according to the Global Industry Classification Standard. With a $512 billion market cap, the stock is typically one of the three largest holdings within consumer staples ETFs.
For instance, the $15.6 billion Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) has Walmart as its third-largest position, with a nearly 10% weighting. Shares of Procter & Gamble and Costco make up 15% and 13% of the ETF, respectively. XLP was last trading up by 1.5% on the day. The ETF is up 9% year-to-date thanks to a 21% gain in Walmart over that same period.
WMT Earnings
The Bentonville, Arkansas company said that earnings and revenues for the full-year would be at or slightly higher than the upper end of its previous guidance, which called for net sales growth of 3% to 4% and operating income growth of 4% to 6%.
Walmart said that growth in its e-commerce business was particularly strong at 22%. Its advertising business, Walmart Connect, also saw strong growth of 26% during the quarter.
