Walmart ended the financial year with better-than-expected results, but the retail giant is more pessimistic for this year: consumers are more cautious, while the economy and geopolitical conditions are increasingly uncertain.
Import tariffs loom
Walmart ended its financial year with a strong fourth quarter, in which sales rose 4.1 % and operating profit even rose 8.3 %. Shining stare was e-commerce, whose sales were up 16 %. For the full financial year, sales rose 5.1 % to 681 billion dollars (650 billion euros), while operating profit went up 9.7 %.
Nevertheless, Walmart is very cautious about its new financial year. Sales growth is expected to slow down to 3 to 4 %, and profit growth may also slow down. The retailer points to major uncertainties related to consumer behaviour and global economic and geopolitical conditions. Moreover, the import tariffs that President Trump threatens to introduce loom threateningly over the retail giant, who imports many products from Mexico and China. That message worried investors, who sent share prices down.
