Wal-Mart Stores Inc Guides Q4 lower at slightly below the low end of range of $1.60-1.70 v $1.65e; FY14 at or slightly below the low end of our range of $5.11 to $5.21 v $5.16e
- Prior: company had provided fourth quarter diluted earnings per share from continuing operations (EPS) guidance of $1.50 to $1.60, which included a $0.10 per share impact from two discrete items, which resulted in an underlying1 EPS guidance range of $1.60 to $1.70. For the full year, the company expected to deliver EPS of $5.01 to $5.11 and accounting for the $0.10 of discrete items, the range for underlying EPS was between $5.11 and $5.21.
- For the 14-week period ending Jan. 31, 2014, we expect both Walmart U.S. and Sams Club comp store sales, without fuel, to be slightly negative to the guidance provided in our third quarter report,
- Walmart U.S. guidance on Nov. 14 was for comp sales to be relatively flat, and Sams expected comps, without fuel, to be between flat and 2 percent.
- Two factors contributed to lower comp sales performance for the 14-week period for Walmart U.S: >- First, the sales impact from the reduction in SNAP (the U.S. government Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits that went into effect Nov. 1 is greater than we expected.
-Second, eight named winter storms resulted in store closures that impacted traffic throughout the quarter.