Wal-Mart (WMT) reported earnings on Thur 18 Feb 2016

** charts after earnings **

 Wal-Mart beats by $0.05, misses on revs; guides Q1, FY17 EPS in-line; guides FY17 sales below; raises dividend 2%  :

• Reports Q4 (Jan) adj. earnings of $1.49 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.44; net sales fell 1.5% year/year to $128.68 bln vs the $130.41 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
  • U.S. comps +0.6% vs ~1% guidance (+1.5% Q4 last year), driven by the fifth consecutive quarter of positive traffic (+0.7%, ticket -0.1%). Neighborhood Market comps increased ~7%. Customer experience scores continued to strengthen; Sam's Club comps -0.5% vs 0-1% guidance (excluding fuel).
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.80-0.95 vs. $0.91 Capital IQ Consensus; US comps +0.5%; Sam's comp flat ex-fuel.
• Co issues guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $4.00-4.30 vs. $4.18 Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY17 net sales flat from $478.6 bln vs. $488.13 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
  • The impact from incremental investments in wages and training in the U.S. is projected to be ~$0.30 per share for the full year. As a result of the timing of wage investments, the company expects the first quarter will be impacted somewhat more on a year-over-year basis than in subsequent quarters.
  • Net sales growth is now expected to be relatively flat, which compares to the previous estimate for growth of 3 to 4 percent on a constant currency basis. This change reflects the impact from recently announced store closures globally, as well as the continued strengthening of the U.S. dollar. Excluding the impact of currency and store closures, our net sales growth guidance would have remained in the 3 to 4 percent growth range.
  • Currency exchange rate fluctuations, based on current exchange rates, are expected to negatively impact net sales by ~$12 billion for fiscal year 2017. Additionally, currency is expected to impact EPS by approximately $0.10 per share for the year, including ~$0.03 in the first quarter.
• The Board of Directors approved an annual cash dividend for fiscal year 2017 of $2.00 per share, an increase of two percent from the $1.96 per share paid for the last fiscal year.