Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) released its earnings results on Thursday. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.500-2.600 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.570-0.580 EPS.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $5.91 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $98.09. 25,509,503 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,283,110. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.17. The stock has a market cap of $788.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart has a one year low of $57.60 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is a boost from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.87.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.