Finance: Walmart beats across the board, guides in-line (WMT)

Gross merchandise volume in its e-commerce unit — the value of everything sold online — surged by 67% year-over-year.

Walmart on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates, boosted by an increase of both foot traffic and by strong online sales. However, shares trade down by about 2%.

America's largest brick-and-mortar retailer said US comp sales rose 1.8% versus a year ago, making for the 12th straight quarter with positive results. Gross merchandise volume in its e-commerce unit — the value of everything sold online — surged by 67% year-over-year.

The company announced adjusted earnings of $1.08 per share, edging out the Wall Street estimate by a penny. Revenue totaled $123.36 billion, surpassing the $122.84 billion that analysts were expecting.

Walmart said grocery sales with food inflation boosting comp sales by "approximately 30 basis points."

Walmart raised the lower end of its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to $4.30 to $4.40 a share after initially anticipating $4.20 to $4.40. Analysts were expecting $4.39.

Gross merchandise volume in its e-commerce unit — the value of everything sold online — surged by 67% year-over-year. Read Full Story