Walmart (WMT) Laps the Stock Market: Here's Why

Company Performance - Walmart's stock closed at $85.90, reflecting a +0.1% change from the previous day, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.08% [1] - Over the past month, Walmart's shares have decreased by 11.73%, underperforming the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 9.1% and the S&P 500's loss of 7.33% [1] Upcoming Earnings - Analysts expect Walmart to report an EPS of$ 0.59, which is a 1.67% decline compared to the same quarter last year [2] - Revenue is anticipated to be $165.92 billion, indicating a 2.73% increase year-over-year [2] Fiscal Year Estimates - For the entire fiscal year, earnings are projected at$ 2.63 per share and revenue at $703.77 billion, reflecting increases of +4.78% and +3.35% respectively from the previous year [3] - Recent changes in analyst estimates suggest a positive outlook for Walmart's business and profitability [3] Analyst Ratings - The Zacks Rank system currently rates Walmart as 3 (Hold), with a 4.09% decline in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate over the past month [5] - The Zacks Rank has a historical track record of outperformance, with 1 stocks averaging a +25% annual return since 1988 [5] Valuation Metrics - Walmart's Forward P/E ratio stands at 32.66, which is a premium compared to the industry's Forward P/E of 13.06 [6] - The PEG ratio for Walmart is 4.56, while the average PEG ratio for the Retail - Supermarkets industry is 2.1 [6] Industry Context - The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector and holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 82, placing it in the top 33% of over 250 industries [7] - Research indicates that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [7]