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Walmart Misses Across The Board, Guides Lower: Blames It On Weather, Obamacare And Taxes
In yet another quarter confirming that Walmart is merely a company that can beat analyst expectations when it cashes Uncle Sam's welfare checks and foodstamps, when the impact of Obamacare is ignored, and when the second it snows all bets are off, WalMart reported Q1 EPS of $1.10, below the $1.15 expected, even if the company was able to explicitly quantify what the impact of snow in the winter was: "Severe weather in the U.S. businesses negatively impacted EPS by approximately $0.03." Apparently the weather's impact on the top line was over $1 billion because revenues came in at $114.96 billion, below the $116.3 billion expected.
In fact the weather in the quarter ended April 30 (when as far as we can recall there was only snow in February because retail sales in March soared on the snow thawing) was so bad, the company dedicated an entire section to it:
"Walmart's first quarter net sales increased 0.8 percent over last year. Like other retailers in the United States, the unseasonably cold and disruptive weather negatively impacted U.S. sales and drove operating expenses higher than expected," said Doug McMillon, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. president and chief executive officer.
Comp stores of -0.2% missing expectations of 0.0% were also due to, you guessed it, ther weather:
"Our comp of negative 8 basis points for the period was in line with our relatively flat guidance," said Bill Simon, Walmart U.S. president and CEO. "A number of severe winter storms negatively impacted us during the quarter. A solid start to spring and a strong Easter drove positive comps in the back half of the quarter.
And then there were taxes:
Additionally, the company's effective tax rate for the quarter was higher than anticipated. The company still expects the full-year tax rate to range between 32 and 34 percent.
How long until WMT buys a Dutch company and reincorporates there to save on taxes?
Ok fine, weather (and taxes) were to blame for everything in the past. So what about the future? Well, WMT forecast a Q2 EPS range of $1.15-$1.25, below the $1.29 consensus, for the following reasons:
"We expect second quarter fiscal year 2015 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations to be between $1.15 and $1.25. This compares to $1.24 last year," said Charles Holley, executive vice president and chief financial officer. "Our guidance assumes incremental investments in e-commerce, headwinds from higher health care costs in the U.S. and increased investments in Sam's Club membership programs. We continue to expect our full-year effective tax rate to range between 32 and 34 percent. We expect our effective tax rate to be at the high end of this guidance for the second quarter."
So to summarize: weather, Obamacare and taxes. And of course, we expect that the lack of foodstamps will also be discussed on the earnings call.
Of course, the only reason why the company's EPS disappointed is that while WMT CapEx tumbled from $3.0 billion a year ago to just $2.2 billion this quarter, so did buybacks, as the company repurchased a measly $626 million of stock down from $2.2 billion a year ago. Judging by the stock reaction in the premarket, shareholders are anything but happy with this outcome.
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Slashing prices and profits.....welcome to Walmart.
Our 29.5 hr/wk associates will be happy to help you....but don't expect them to smile about it.
...but don't expect them to smile about it.
aren't most of them ex and soon to be convicts?
Well, at least they aren't blaming it on republicans... Or racists, or the tea party, etc etc...
whoa, whoa.......wasn't the prez of Walmart just bragging on the fact that this was the 1st sitting president to visit a Walmart the other day in Sillycon Valley?
or maybe he was making fun of bozo?
I'm so fuckin' confused..............
Taxes for sure.
not every black man who goes to wallmart is the American president...
My wife took me to Wal Mart a couple of years ago. I fucking hated it. After about 15 minutes beads of sweat started rolling down my forehead due to anxiety.
It was though I was being shown an image of a gruesome crime scene.
I don't even like to DRIVE BY the Wal-Mart store. I try to look the other way when I'm passing down that part of the street.
If there is any place where you are likely to be hit by an uninsured driver, it's a WMT parking lot. Go around back where the loading docks are.
Went to a WallyWorldMart with the wife a few weeks back to grab some things for a home-bound neighbor, and determined the the People of Wal-Mart site isn't populated with pictures of the outliers - they're the average WM shopper. Fully 90% of the persons in the store were more than moderately overwight, with about 2/3 of those being morbidly obese.
On the plus side, they actually had .40S&W ammo in stock for almost 30% less than I'm accustomed to paying at the 'discount' sporting goods stores; same manufacturer, too. I am ashamed to say I purchased 300 rounds without hesitation, but pleased I'm not in the 90% referenced above.
Well you do need to know how to capt ur own boat, or cash and carry.
News from The Associated Press Consumers losing doctors with new insurance plans
"If you like your plan you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor." another lies reveals its evil head.
If you want cheap, you have to pay the price. That price means, you don't get to pick just any doctor. Only the ones the carrier says you can have and even then you may not get in.
I drove down to a rural ky towns iga ribeyes 3.48 l b hamburger 1.99 . This Amish farm country. The place was packed . Turns out folks from cinch, Louisville etc drive all the way down there when they have those sales. I loaded up the truck
The Amish are exempt from Obamacare. I'm thinking of joining myself. I've already got my eye on a horse and buggy.
You'll have to ditch the camera iPhone and credit cards and learn how to read a sundial.
Oh and no buttons or zippers or Velcro either.
Blacksmitting and old old school carpentry skills are a big help too.
I'm looking at the libertarian Amish branch.....it's not so old school. You only have to grow a beard if you want to.
That would be the Mennonites.
Very nice people too.
Here ya go:
http://amishamerica.com/whats-the-difference-between-amish-and-mennonites/
You can only have a beard if you're married and that's mandatory. You could try the Black Bumper Mennonites who wear Blues Brothers hats but you have to drive American cars made before 1986 and spray black paint over all the chrome. There's usually a reserved section for them at most tractor pulls.
There's an amish market near my work. The young people all have iPhones and they sell stuff that was made in a factory in China. Seems like the term Amish is more for marketing than lifestyle. Although, they are very nice and have good deals.
The Amish and Mennonites are nice (to your face) as long as you have money to spend at their stores.
The only place to get good deals from the Amish is at their hardware stores. They also specialize in selling stale food and damaged can goods at "Outlet Stores" which have gas lighting but are also equipped with huge diesel generators for refrigeration. The cash registers are battery operated.
Since they are opposed to being connected to the outside world by wires, they are instead connected by way of the propane and diesel fuel tankers which are usually owned by Mennonite families. These people operate very similarly to another group originating in Europe whose orthodox members also wear black clothing, have beards, and speak pidgin German dialects.
Wal-Mart is exactly what's wrong with the US economy. One company does half a trillion in biz a year; how many small retailers did they put out of business over the years?
Same everywhere... Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Time Warner, etc., major corporations are the giant sucking sound of the past thirty years, sucking the life-blood of the nation into the veins of a few wealthy investors.
Buy stawks!
Opt out, good buddy. Just opt out.
I was getting charged $140 for TW cable, cancelled the TV side this week and bitched about the internet...Baam
Now $45 a month. Saving enough now to enjoy 3/4 of an ounce a Gold per year. $95 for TV I didn't watch, I am sheeple.
As stated early this week My Wal-mart looked flat if not lower here in So.Cal., this a neighborhood market, store of the year last year for Walmart, so the numbers are correct according to the trash man. Forward guidance not so good, things are slower.
Me too. I do not miss it. Bought a Roku instead. Now streaming a few things and internet for 40 bucks a month.
This is nothing new. 50 years ago you could have posted the same thing about Sears and Woolworths.
Amazon is the new Wal-Mart.
Dude i'm Writing a Book about Walmart... it' going to be called "you Fucking idiots" then i'll buy Gold with my Profit!!!
excessive liquity and a continued coordinated effort by large financial insitutions and central banks should be able to ignore this and take us to all time highs again
or Yellen's printer breaks
This is Bullshit! How many of you went into a Walmart before the snow storm.... the freaking shelves were emptied out!
I was so shocked that I had to ask several workers where all the merchandise was. They all said people were stocking up for the storm.
If anything, it helped Walmart sales not hurt them!
The company I work for has supply contracts with Walmart...akin to addiction to painkillers, Walmart soaks up inventory that can't be pushed through higher-priced retail channels. So yesterday the suits went into panic mode mid-afternoon, the analysts were left scratching each others heads as to why. This explains it. Thanks ZH.
good business plan, undermine your price-point buy dumping inventory in your back yard. maybe start looking for another job.
walmart is nothing but a .gov subsidy to china via ebt drip.
"Giant civilian PX", as I commented before.
If more people are on foodstamps than ever, then Walmart should be doing a booming business.
So, if I buy food at WalMart (I never have) but the weather is too crappy to shop that day, don't I buy the same amount or slightly more when the weather clears? Or do I subsist on Cheetos and Mountain Dew bought at the corner gas station because I could make it there and back in a snowstorm?
Lots of companies moving to Ireland in the past few years due to the smaller tax burden. O'WallyMart is catchy.
they pay taxes? really? who would have known...
I BET SOMEBODY FORGOT TO PAY HIS CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS TO OBAMA!!!
It's a lot more fun to create them.
wait, i thought it was low wages, no jobs, and a product line aimed at those suffering from the first two
Why not blame it on Russia and Putin?
FUCK YOU, WALMART!!!
Or as we call them in the Tampa, FL area, "Ghetto-Mart".
I avoid Ghetto-Mart at all costs and never do any significant shopping in one unless I need something quick and small from automotive or if I'm travelling to another town or state and have limited choice.
I still feel pissed off anytime I go into one and when I'm leaving. Hate those fucking places.
Paying employees slave wages and then only giving them 15hrs a week doesn't help. Not that $15hr would help im just saying a lot of times I go there there's a lot of empty spots on the shelves, crap in the wrong place etc. I generally try to avoid the place but find myself there on occasion. I'm currently filing complaints because the grounds around Walmart, which im pretty sure they own, look like a dump.
Slave wages? Have you not had any interaction with a Wal-Mart employee? They are paying those people decidedly more than they are worth.
In wmt sales is a lot of food and gasoline which have gone up in price, so the problem is larger.
I can't believe all of the Wal-Mart dissing going on in here. W T F People. If you're looking for a hot young single mother with neck tattoo and her titties on full display, with those hip hugger jeans and a tank top...you know, the ones that let you take a peek at a few upper pubic hairs.....or if you're into FAT CHICKS that have no personal hygiene.....or maybe you're into watching scooter races, nothing like seeing them running three wide down the snack food isle.....then you've come to the right place.
If you're a female and have a job, there is always a huge selection of 20 something unemployed loser males in tow who would gladly come home with you, drink your beer, eat your food, fuck your eyes out and watch porn while you're off at work. Shopping, entertainment, great place to hook up with some hos...What's not to love. I doubt if any of you fucktards putting WalMart down have ever actually been in the store. WalMart....I"M LOVING IT!
Right on.
I met my second ex wife I wal mart on the trash bag isle. True story.
If you are smart you shop at Walmart for the staples...they are cheaper...jus sayin..
On occasion I shop at Walmart to see the Real America. Inexpensive casual entertainment.
Yeah, me too. It's a reality check, that's for sure.
Me too. Here in SoCal, especially in the High Desert of North LA County, we have the biggest population of Welfare and Section 8 around. While I walk through there, I am amazed, I'm telling you, amazed at how many ugly women there are, pushing baby carriages around! I'm not talking about homely, or slightly unattractive, I'm talking about serious hit-it-with-a-stick ugly. The women are so ugly, I am doubly amazed that they even have children, because there's no way in hell, I am sticking anything in them and wonder who would? The males on the other end, probably have to be drunk off their asses to even consider the matter! I'm not talking about a beer or two. You'd have to have at least a six pack or more, maybe even a 12 pack to even come close to considering it and the revolting thought would still kill the urge! And if they actually got naked in daylight, you'd have some serious penis shrinkage to the point where the 'outie' becomes an 'innie'! God, the horror!
They do have excellent prices on lots of items. I still like shopping at Aldis for the best prices(sugar, flour, canned vegetables etc). But my local Aldis has slowly started raising prices. The California drought and higher shipping costs are taking it's toll.
We get ours at sams club and costco. If you don't mind buying things in bulk, they're even cheaper.
I don't get the problem with shopping at Wal-Mart. I shop there maybe once a month and it's no different than HD, Lowes, Target, Kohl's etc... . I pick my items, put it in a cart and pay with my Amex, The same thing I do everywhere.
Fuck, there's a solar flare that erupted last week in Alpha Centauri. That oughtta take 2% out of GDP in Q2.
Walmart can blame soft sales on the rotation of the earth if they want, you know, because people sleep 10 hours a night so they cant shop
Like people feel sorry for China-Mart.
Compare workers at a Sam's Club vs Costco. You can see the difference.
In my area, the Wal-Mart employees are from Africa. The costco employees are from south of the border. So yes, I can see a difference.
If they had winter clothes and accessories available in January, February or March, they might have done OK. Stores start stocking spring clothing closer and closer to January 1st. Hard to find long johns, winter coats or any winter clothes in any store in the middle of January or later.
Shop online at Walmart for stuff to avoid the stores. They have free shipping on stuff after $50.00. You'll save gas and avoid the crowds.
Don't use the ship to store option. You'll wait 2 hours to get your merchandise. And that's if you're lucky enough to get there when there's no line. It typically takes me 30 minutes to get someone behind the counter and it's right next to their break room full of employees.
Yeah, their service lines suck. Ship it to your home. Stuff gets there very fast too. Their online service and selection is getting better and better. I hate going to their stores only to find the items I want are not in stock or not yet placed on the shelves. It wastes lots of time and gas money. I might visit their stores every 3 weeks to look for clearance items and stock up on staples.
I though ACA (Obamacare) was supposed to lower health care costs? After all it's name starts with the word "affordable". How is this possible?
It's affordabe for the hospitals.
The most important thing to recognize is that revenues were down $1 billion. This shows a combination of 2 things - people do not have rising incomes and/or that they are being forced to spend their money elsewhere due to higher prices (like gasoline, ACA, etc). It is ominous that CPI (and Walmart prices) are up this year, yet total revenues are not - meaning that even fewer Chinese products are flying off the Walmart shelves.
Complain as you will, but at least this company is and has been honest about the state of business and the economy all along and pays taxes at a rate higher than at least 90% of corporate America.