Dow went up 155, butdecliners over advancers 4-3 & NAZ was down 64. The MLP index added 1+ to the 215s & the REIT index was steady in the 453s. Junk bond funds dipped lower & Treasuries were sold bringing higher yields (more below). Oil slid back 1+ to 88 & gold was off 5 to 1792.
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Walmart (WMT), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, forecast a smaller drop in annual profit than it had predicted less than a month ago, after deep discounts to clear excess merchandise & a drop in fuel prices helped it beat expectations for quarterly sales. Last month it slashed its profit forecast & warned that consumers were pulling back on discretionary purchases at a far greater pace than feared as higher prices for everything from toothpaste to gas hampered their spending power. That forced WMT to make steep price cuts on items such as apparel to try to reduce more than $61B worth of inventory it was sitting on at the end of Q2. Walmart reported inventories of $60B at the end of Q2 that was still 25% above last year's levels. "The actions we've taken to improve inventory levels in the US, along with a heavier mix of sales in grocery put pressure on profit margin for Q2 and our outlook for the year," CEO Doug McMillon said. WMT now expects fiscal 2023 adjusted EPS to fall 9-11%, compared with its previous forecast of a 11-13% decline. Total revenue rose 8.4% to $1523B, helped by demand for food & other essential items. The forecast was for revenue of $151. However, discounts on discretionary products, slowing demand for high-margin items such as appliances, electronics & clothes, & rising labor costs led to a 6.8% fall in operating income to $6.8B. The stock went up 7.48 (6%).
If you would like to learn more about WMT, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/WMT?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Walmart expects smaller profit drop as discounts drive demand
The stock jumped 12+ (4%).
If you would like to learn more about HD, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/HD?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Home Depot beats quarterly Comparable Sales estimates
Bond yields rise following big data releases
Dow Jones Industrials
