Walmart's rare sales miss tests consumer spend amid price cuts

Walmart missed quarterly comparable sales for the first time in about five years as shoppers pull back amid higher gas prices, sending shares down about 6% in premarket trading. The retailer still nudged up its full-year net-sales growth target to 4–5% and highlighted strength in its e-commerce and Walmart Connect ads (e-commerce +24%, advertising +43%), though store traffic slowed and price cuts continued (11,000+ items in Q2). U.S. Q2 same-store sales rose 2.6% versus 3.8% expectations; average ticket rose 1.1% (vs 3.1% a year ago). Excluding Inflation Reduction Act effects, core U.S. comps rose 3.4%, the slowest since early-2022. Third-quarter adjusted EPS guidance is 62–64 cents (below consensus of 68 cents), with net-sales growth for the quarter guided to 3–3.75%.