Walmart International's Sales Gain Momentum: Can the Growth Continue?

Walmart Inc. WMT continues to build momentum in its international business through a combination of stronger store performance, expanding digital capabilities and growing customer engagement across key markets. The company’s first-quarter fiscal 2027 results highlighted broad-based strength across Walmart International, reinforcing the role of the segment as an increasingly important growth driver.International net sales increased 18% year over year to $35.1 billion. Excluding currency impacts, net sales rose 10.1% to $32.8 billion, supported by higher transaction counts and unit volumes across all categories. Growth was generated through both physical stores and digital channels, reflecting continued progress in Walmart’s omnichannel strategy across international markets.A key contributor was e-commerce, with sales climbing 27% during the quarter. Store-fulfilled pickup and delivery services, along with marketplace expansion, remained major growth drivers. Digital penetration continued to improve across markets, with e-commerce accounting for roughly 29% of International net sales on a constant-currency basis, up about 340 basis points from the year-ago period.China and Flipkart stood out during the quarter. China benefited from strong festive demand, including double-digit growth during the Lunar New Year period, while Flipkart continued to contribute meaningfully to segment growth. Faster fulfillment capabilities also supported performance. Walmart International delivered approximately 65% of total e-commerce units through same-day or next-day service, with about half of those orders reaching customers in less than one hour.The quarter indicates that Walmart International’s growth is becoming increasingly diversified. Higher transaction volumes, rising digital penetration, marketplace expansion and faster delivery capabilities are working together to strengthen customer engagement and support sustained sales momentum across the segment.What Do the Latest Metrics Say About Walmart?Walmart, which competes with Costco Wholesale Corporation COST and Target Corporation TGT, has seen its shares rally 19.7% over the past year compared with the industry’s 16.8% growth. Shares of Costco have dipped 5.3%, while Target has gained 35.4% in the aforementioned period.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchFrom a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 38.61, higher than the industry’s 35.03. The company is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 15.27) while trading at a discount to Costco (43.14). Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Walmart’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 5.1% and 9.5%, respectively. Walmart currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge GainsQuantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks