Walmart has told its workers that it plans to “win” the holiday season. Ahead of the peak shopping period, the nation’s largest retailer appears well positioned, citing “broad-based strength” across its product range.
Walmart said Tuesday that U.S. sales increased 5 percent in the third quarter, to $114.9 billion, easily surpassing analysts’ estimates. Its U.S. e-commerce business jumped 22 percent, aided by pickup and delivery options and its expanding online advertising and marketplace business.
Operating profit for the quarter rose 9.1 percent at the retailer’s U.S. unit. Walmart raised its full-year forecast for sales and profit, higher than the estimates it had already increased last quarter.
Doug McMillon, Walmart’s chief executive, said the company had “momentum.”
“In the U.S., in-store volumes grew, pickup from store grew faster, and delivery from store grew even faster than that,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
Walmart, which brings in millions of customers each week, is a bellwether of U.S. consumer trends. The period between Thanksgiving and New Year can make or break a retailer’s year, and companies are unsure about how freely shoppers will spend in the weeks ahead.
Stung by inflation, consumers have shown that they are looking for low prices and convenience, such as free or fast shipping. The squeeze has been acute on lower-income shoppers, a core customer base for Walmart, and more higher-income customers have been trading down to Walmart in recent years. Walmart said those more affluent shoppers continued to buoy sales in its latest quarter.
