=Wal-Mart (WMT) reported earnings Thur 17 Aug 2017 (b/o)

Wal-Mart beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line; guides FY18 EPS in-line

• Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $1.08 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better thanthe Capital IQ Consensus of $1.07; revenues rose 2.1% year/year to $121.95 bln vs the $121.86 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Walmart U.S. comp sales increased 1.8% vs. +1.5-2.0% guidance with traffic growth of 1.3%, marking the twelfth consecutive quarter with positive comp sales. Strength in grocery continued as food categories deliveries the strong comp in five years (helped by 30 bps of inflation). Gross margin -11 bps to 25.0%. Comp store inventory -3.8%.
• Sam's Club comps +1.2% vs. +1.0-1.5% guidance.
• E-commerce growth at Walmart U.S. remained strong, led by organic growth through Walmart.com. Net sales and GMV grew 60% and 67%, respectively, as customers continued to respond well to new initiatives and an expanded assortment of more than 67 million SKUs.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.90-0.98 vs. $0.97 Capital IQ Consensus; sees Wal-Mart US comps ex-fuel +1.5-2.0%; Sam's Club +1.0-1.5%.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY18, raises EPS to $4.30-4.40 from $4.20-4.40, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.36 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.