=Wal-Mart (WMT) reported earnings on Tue 20 Feb 18 (b/o)

Wal-Mart misses by $0.04, beats on revs; guides FY19 EPS below estimates 

• Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $1.33 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.37; revenues rose 4.2% year/year to $135.15 bln vs the $133.63 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Walmart U.S. comp sales increased 2.6% vs. +1.5-2.0% guidance, and comp traffic increased 1.6%. On a two-year stack, comp sales growth of 4.4% marked the best performance in eight years. eCommerce sales and GMV at Walmart U.S. increased 23% and 24%, respectively. Sam's Club comp sales, excluding fuel, increased 2.4% vs. +1.5-2.0% guidance, led by comp traffic growth of 4.3%.
• Co issuesdownside EPS guidancefor FY19, sees EPS of $4.75-5.00 vs. $5.08 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Comp sales for the 52-week period ending Jan. 25, 2019: Walmart U.S. (ex. fuel): at least +2.0%; Sam's Club (ex. fuel & tobacco): +3.0% to +4.0%; Excludes tobacco, which represents a negative impact to comp sales of ~400 basis points. Consolidated net sales growth in constant currency of 1.5% to 2.0%, negatively impacted by: Sam's Club closures and the decision to remove tobacco from certain clubs; Decision to wind-down first-party eCommerce business in Brazil and the divestiture of Suburbia; Walmart U.S. eCommerce sales growth: ~40%; operating margin 4.3-4.4% ex-FX; tax rate 24-26%
• Co approved an annual cash dividend for fiscal year 2019 of $2.08 per share, an increase of 2 percent from the $2.04 per share paid for the last fiscal year

Wal-Mart On Call

• expects E-commerce growth of about 40% in 2018
• anticipates $6.3 bln negative impact related to Sams Club closures and decision to not sell tobacco 
• expects headwind of approx. $500 mln related to the wind down of Brazil e-commerce business
• expects gross margin to ramp up during year 

Walmart unveils new apparel brands to check Amazon's growth

Walmart is introducing low-cost clothing brands for women, kids and plus-size customers, aiming to lure shoppers as Amazon gobbles up more apparel sales. The store brands include Time and Tru in ladieswear, Terra & Sky in plus-size apparel, and Wonder Nation for kids, according to a company presentation to suppliers. The George apparel brand, which Walmart brought over from its British unit Asda, will be refocused for men only.