Walmart Report Earnings Revealing Online Sales Have Skyrocketed

Big-box retailer Walmart reported its second quarter financial results this week, revealing better than expected results.

The world’s largest retailer saw its online sales skyrocket 97% during the period as more people ordered online amid the coronavirus pandemic.

For the quarter the company reported revenue of $137.7 billion compared to $135.6 billion that analysts were expecting according to Bloomberg consensus forecasts. Adusted EPS at $1.56 was also better than the $1.24 expected, per Bloomberg. U.S. comp-store sales (excluding gas) were 9.3% compared to just 5.3% expected.

Shares of Walmart were up over 6% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the company reported.

“I want to give a big thank you to our associates for their tireless efforts during these unprecedented times,”CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement.

“We also appreciate the trust and confidence of our customers. We remain focused on serving them well now and expanding our set of global capabilities to serve them well in the future,” he added.

McMillon said on the earnings call, “As I shared last quarter, we are operating with a clear set of priorities to guide our discussion-making through this crisis. Those priorities are, one, supporting our associates on the frontline in terms of their physical and financial well being; two, serving our customers as safely as possible and keeping our supply chain operating; three, helping others, which includes hiring [indiscernible] supporting our suppliers and marketplace sellers and serving the communities where we operate, including accelerating our efforts to increase, racial equity, and justice; four, managing the business well operationally and financially in a short-term; and five, driving our strategy to strengthen our business for the long-term.”

The company’s growth in comparable store sales in the U.S. were “led by strength in general merchandise and food.” Online grocery pickup and delivery “continued to experience all-time high sales volumes,” said Walmart.

At the end of the quarter, Walmart’s online grocery pickup service was offered at 3,450 locations and same-day delivery at 2,730 stores.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and have not been compensated for this article.