Retail giant Walmart (WMT) posted its quarterly earnings for Q1 of 2021 on Tuesday; a report which showed its sales figures to have significantly exceeded all expectations set by industry experts. Walmart shares gained 1% in early trading on Tuesday morning.
Total Q1 revenue was $138.31 billion, almost $4 billion clear of the previous year’s revenue of $134.62 billion. Adjusted earnings per share averaged out at $1.69 per share, well clear of the previous year’s $1.18.
This unexpectedly strong performance was largely spurred on by pandemic-influenced consumer trends, such as doing all grocery shopping at a big box store to complete this chore in one trip and remain more socially distant.
What makes the recent sales growth all the more surprising is that analysts actually expected Walmart’s sales growth to decrease year-on-year for the first time since 2016.
Contrary to observers’ projections, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon remained optimistic regarding his corporation’s future performance. In an earnings announcement on Tuesday, McMillon announced: “Our optimism is higher than it was at the beginning of the year. In the U.S., customers clearly want to get out and shop.”
Walmart has also been highly active in expanding its product offerings, with the world’s largest retailer launching Walmart+, a competitor to Amazon’s Prime membership which offers free delivery on a variety of goods as well as in-app payment options.
