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Wal-Mart 1Q net up 39%
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May 11, 1999: 10:58 a.m. ET
Nation's biggest retailer tops consensus with best non-Christmas quarter
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, Tuesday reported record fiscal first-quarter earnings, the highest the company has achieved in a quarter that didn't include the year-end holidays.
Net income for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer rose to $1.1 billion, or 25 cents per diluted share, from $828 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier.
The latest-quarter per-share net, a 39-percent increase from a year earlier, exceeded the 22 cents per diluted share consensus of analysts surveyed by First Call Corp.
"They're firing on almost all cylinders at this stage of the game," said Michael Exstein, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston. [125K WAV or 125K AIFF]
Wal-Mart's (WMT) same-store sales for the quarter ended April 30 climbed 9.3 percent from a year earlier. Total sales hit $34.7 billion, a 17 percent increase.
"We achieved our fourth consecutive quarter of net income in excess of $1 billion and the highest net income ever reported by the company in a non-Christmas quarter in our history," said David Glass, Wal-Mart's president and chief executive officer.
The flagship Wal-Mart stores accounted for most of the sales with $23.9 billion, a 15 percent increase over the year-ago period. Same-store sales for the discount retailer were up 9.6 percent. Sam's Club stores saw sales of $5.6 billion, an 11 percent gain; same-store sales for the warehouse chain were up 8.3 percent.
Wal-Mart shares, up 78.5 percent in the last 52 weeks, climbed 1-9/16 to 46-3/4 in Tuesday morning trade.
Wal-Mart shares since last year
The news also boosted the shares of other major retailers. Exstein told CNNfn that while Wal-Mart consistently posts good earnings figures, investors have been flocking to retail firms in general as part of a trend toward value stocks.
"Costco is a terrific company," Exstein said. "Target, which is part of Dayton Hudson, is a very tough competitor to Wal-Mart. I don't think this is a Wal-Mart phenomenon."
Costco (COST) shares were up 1-1/4 at 82-1/4 in morning trade. Dayton Hudson (DH) shares were up 1-5/16 at 64-9/16.
Exstein also noted that Wal-Mart will fortify its online strategy as it faces increased competition from such Internet retailers as Amazon.com (AMZN).
"You're going to see Wal-Mart completely change its Internet operation and its perspective on it as the fall unfolds," Exstein said. "You're going to see a much more aggressive Wal-Mart stand on the Internet." 
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Amazon, Wal - Mart settle - April 5, 1999
Wal - Mart beats Street - Feb. 16, 1999
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Wal - Mart
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