Walmart

[Fernando Palmer]

Why did the Walmart stock price explode higher today? Is there any particular reason or simply the technicals are behind the move?

[Elise Cubb]

Hi Fernando, thanks for coming here.

Yes, indeed, Walmart stock price moved higher yesterday after the company announced better-than-expected results for the first quarter. This is expected as the panic-buying in March and April meant that Walmart struggled to cope with a surge in demand. 

 

"For many of these items we were selling in two or three hours what we normally sell in two or three days,” CEO Doug McMillon said. 

“Not only have products and categories like hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes and sprays, toilet paper, beef, and pork been hard to find but items such as laptops, office chairs, and fabric have been cleared out in some of our stores and online. We’re working to recover our in-stock position as we begin the second quarter.”

As a result, Walmart said it hired more than 230,000 new staff to help with the demand. The long queues in front of Walmart resulted in the retailer earnings $1.18 per share in the first-quarter ending April 30, above the $1.12 per share expected from the analysts. Furthermore, Walmart’s revenue increased by 8.6% to $134.62 billion, again better than Wall Street’s expectations of $132.80 billion.

Shares of Walmart then opened around 3% higher on better-than-expected results. However, the buyers failed to protect those gains, which ultimately resulted in the stock closing 2.1% lower on the day. This is a bearish development that will continue to have a negative impact on the stock in the short-term.