Typically every co. offers good figs and beats annalysts forcasts and then gets hammered . lol
Reuters Wal-Mart Quarterly Profit Up Thursday August 12, 6:51 am ET
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - News) on Thursday reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings as demand for back-to-school clothes and other high-profit items made up for sluggish summer sales. The world's biggest retailer said it earned $2.7 billion, or 62 cents per share, in the second quarter ended on July 31, compared with $2.3 billion, or 52 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected profit of 60 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
"This quarter, earnings grew faster than sales, and we improved operating profits in all of our divisions," Chief Executive Lee Scott said in a news release. "We consider this a solid performance in a difficult retail environment."
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer posted second-quarter sales of $69.7 billion, up 11.3 percent from a year earlier, while sales at U.S. stores open at least a year -- a key measure of retail performance -- rose just 4.1 percent.
Analysts said the sales, which Wal-Mart announced earlier in August, were somewhat disappointing because of poor demand in June that the company blamed on uncooperative weather.
The company has also cautioned that steep gasoline prices are curbing consumer spending.
CML Price at posting:
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