Second-quarter earnings season is just about over, but not before one of the biggest consumer staples in the world, Walmart WMT , reports later this week. The retail giant is looking strong heading into its earnings announcement, leading many investors to wonder whether WMT is worth a buy ahead of the report.
Heading into the report, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Walmart's earnings stands at $1.02 per share, while the estimate for its revenue figures sits at $120.10 billion. If those figures hold up, sales will have remained relatively flat, while earnings will have dropped by nearly 5.3% on a year-over-year basis.
Of course, most investors are hoping those numbers don't hold up, and many are preparing for the possibility of an earnings beat when Walmart reports on Thursday. Over the past 30 days, we have seen two positive estimate revisions for the company's current quarter earnings, which has nudged consensus estimates higher.
As of right now, the Most Accurate Estimate sits one penny higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, which gives Walmart a positive Earnings ESP of about 1%. With Walmart's Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) listing, a positive Earnings ESP suggests that company is more likely to beat this quarter.
While Walmart could be likely to beat on Thursday, this does not guarantee that the stock will shoot up. With its recent purchase of Jet.com and continued uncertainty surrounding the performance of its e-commerce segment, investors may be more concerned with Walmart's outlook for the remainder of the year.
If the company can post solid earnings and guide well for the rest of the fiscal year, shares of WMT could be set to soar. However, there are no guarantees in the market and there are several factors that could weigh Walmart's report down. For a full preview of Walmart and retail competitors Target's TGT earnings, check out our video below:
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
