Wal-Mart Beats 1Q Estimates
By Matt Paolucci

The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), reported a 24 percent jump in first-quarter sales, while earnings rose almost 45 percent, exceeding Wall Street expectations.

The Bentonville, Ariz.-based behemoth reported net income of $1.33 billion in the quarter, up from $916 million in the year-earlier quarter. Earnings per share rose to 30 cents, up 50 percent from the prior year's 20 cents a share.

First Call estimates were for 29 cents per share.

Revenues for the quarter checked in at $42.98 billion, an increase of almost 24 percent over sales of $34.72 billion a year ago. Last year's first-quarter earnings were reduced by a one-time non-cash charge of about 4 cents per share from an accounting change.

Shares of WMT were $1.75 higher, trading at $54.13 in midday trading.

"I am pleased to report our eighth consecutive quarter of net earnings in excess of $1 billion, before the accounting change, and 19 percent growth in income before the accounting change in the prior year period," Lee Scott, President and CEO said.

Scott continued, "During the quarter, we added $8.3 billion in sales and $212 million in income. This excellent start to the new fiscal year resulted from the hard work and dedication of our more than 1.1 million associates and I thank them for their efforts."

Wal-Mart had roughly 1,784 Wal-Mart discount stores, 753 Supercenters, and 465 Sam's Club warehouse stores in the United States at the end of the first quarter. Besides the United States, Wal-Mart also has stores in the U.K., Canada, Brazil, Germany, China and Mexico, among others.

Wal-Mart also said it expects sales at stores open at least a year to rise 5 to 9 percent in the second quarter.

"We believe that our results for the upcoming quarter should be near the upper end of the current analysts' estimates," Thomas Schoewe, Wal-Mart's chief financial officer, said. "Those estimates currently range from around 34 cents a share to 36 cents a share."

Total company comparable sales for the quarter were up 9.1 percent. Represented by a 9.6 percent increase for the Wal- Mart stores and a 7.0 percent increase for Sam's.

Wall Street is a huge advocate of Wal-Mart. Seventeen of the 24 analysts who follow shares of WMT rate it either a Strong Buy or Moderate Buy. Its 5-year growth rate is forecast at just under 15 percent, according to Zack's Investment Research.

Analysts' consensus estimates for the second quarter are 35 cents a share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.