Walmart's report

Walmart, the biggest US supermarket chain focused on home goods, posted stronger results from February to April than analysts had expected. Shares rise before the opening of trading on Tuesday.

The biggest US retailers reported their quarterly results for the three months from February to April 2021 on Tuesday before the opening of trading, which far surpassed average market analysts' forecasts.

Walmart report

Walmart (WMT), owner of the world's largest food, household goods and electronics supermarket chain, delighted its investors with the announcement of continued strong digital sales growth and an upgrade to its full-year forecast.

Shares in Walmart rose 4.15% before trading opened on Tuesday on good news.

Walmart executives said quarterly results were positively impacted by direct government payments to the public in the pandemic on the latest $1.9 trillion bailout package.

Walmart shares rebounded from a fall in February, when the company lowered sales forecasts and disappointed investors with earnings.

Walmart reported Q1 2022 earnings per share growth of 50% above last year to $1.69, $0.48 better than analysts' average estimate of $1.21 earnings per share.

Total revenue for the quarter rose 12% to $138.3bn, also above analysts' forecasts of $131.95bn.

Meanwhile, Walmart's online sales continued to show strong growth of 37% with good results across all sales segments. The company noted that digital sales have more than doubled in the past two years. Last year, Walmart launched the Walmart subscription service, which, similar to Amazon Prime, provides free shipping services.

The good results have given Walmart an opportunity to raise its forecast for the second quarter and the year.

Walmart shares are up 10.3% over the past 12 months, but down 3.65% YTD.