Profit Rises at Wal-Mart, but U.S. Sales Languish

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

Wal-Mart posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday but continued to struggle with stores in the United States despite an array of changes aimed at reversing a sales slide that has persisted for eight quarters.

Sales at stores open at least a year fell by 1.1 percent in the quarter, the company said, continuing one of the worst streaks in Wal-Mart’s history.

Over all, earnings beat analyst expectations, helped by sales strength in international stores and at Sam’s Club. The company said profit was $3.4 billion, or 97 cents a share, up from $3.3 billion, or 87 cents a share, a year earlier. Wal-Mart had forecast a profit of 91 to 96 cents a share for the quarter, and analysts expected a 95-cent-a-share profit on average.

Revenue in the period, which ended April 30 and was the first quarter of Wal-Mart’s fiscal year, rose 4.4 percent, to $104.2 billion from $99.9 billion.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/business/18shop.html

[madrchsod]

1. slow where i live, especially the clothes.

the thrift shops around here sell better stuff at a cheaper price than walmart.

[Warpy]

2. Around here, people hit the Dollar Store and Big Lots first

to stock up on as much of their groceries as they can, along with cheap toys and whatever else they need. Then they go to Wally's for all the stuff those two stores (conveniently next to each other) didn't provide.

I've been noticing the gradual shift in parking lot density for the past five years, before the official recession began.

[Mopar151]

3. Whatever the move they made was..

Either "upmarket" , concentrating on fast moving items, or taking "frontage" money (vendors pay up-front to guarantee shelf space, may do their own "merchandizing" as well) - It ain't f'n workin!

They have lost a lot of our business, as many things we buy are either hard to find or missing. Sadly they are not the only heinous bastards in the grocery business.........

[SoCalNative]

4. I wish them nothing but

continued downturns, hopefully stunning profit losses over the next year and wish that some day those bastards would be driven out of business.

[Hubert Flottz]

5. It's hard to buy anything if you don't have any money or job.

[TBA]

6. Love Grocery Outlet Bargain Market

They buy overstock food and sell cheap.
Avoid WalMart- not that cheap.

[JoeyTrib]

7. When Wal Mart is too expensive for the working class, the US is toast.

And in a depression.

[Canuckistanian]

8. This may be a good sign

Walmart seeks out and thrives on poor economic conditions. Their worst nightmare is a prosperous economy.