Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.500-2.600 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.570-0.580 EPS.

Walmart Trading Down 6.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $6.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.18. 27,482,755 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,465,574. Walmart has a 1 year low of $57.60 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.17. The firm has a market cap of $780.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This is a positive change from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.