Walmart (WMT) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

In the latest close session, Walmart (WMT) was down 2.18% at $127.59. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.19%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.19%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.1%. Coming into today, shares of the world's largest retailer had gained 2.89% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 6.53%, while the S&P 500 gained 9.13%. Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Walmart in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on May 21, 2026. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.65, reflecting a 6.56% increase from the same quarter last year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $174.05 billion, reflecting a 5.1% rise from the equivalent quarter last year. In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $2.89 per share and a revenue of $748.84 billion, indicating changes of +9.47% and +5%, respectively, from the former year. It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Walmart. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook. Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system. The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Walmart is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. With respect to valuation, Walmart is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 45.15. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 14.37. Also, we should mention that WMT has a PEG ratio of 4.86. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Retail - Supermarkets industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.08. The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 214, placing it within the bottom 13% of over 250 industries. The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is HereThe AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See 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