Walmart's stock tumbled on Thursday in early market trading.
Shares of Walmart declined on Thursday after the world's largest supermarket chain reported disappointing U.S. comparable sales growth, after drug prices were hit by changes to regulations on Medicaid prescribed medication.
The Bentonville, Ark.-headquartered company reported revenue of $187.9 billion, a rise of nearly 6% from a year earlier, and marginally higher than analysts' estimates of $186.7 billion, according to the London Stock Exchange Group.
Walmart's stock $(WMT)$ fell by close to 7% ahead of the market open, with total gains since the start of the year up almost 3%.
"Our team delivered another good quarter, and we continue to make steady progress on the long-term value drivers of our business," CEO John Furner said in a statement accompanying the results.
The company said that its comparable sales at U.S. locations, omitting fuel, increased by 2.6% in the quarter, owing to pressure in its pharmacy unit following changes to Medicare drug price regulations. It marks the lowest growth since the fourth quarter of 2020, when sales increased by 1.9%.
The retailer, with close to 11,000 stores in 19 countries, posted earnings per share of 80 cents for the period ended July 31, down from 88 cents for the same period of last year, but surpassing Wall Street consensus of 74 cents, per LSEG data.
Walmart's financial earnings, along with those of rival Target (TGT), are closely watched by investors to help to gauge the health of the U.S. consumer, especially in a year where Americans have grown fatigued with high oil prices pushing up spending.
For the full year, Walmart said it sees sales increasing by between 4% and 5%, above its previous outlook of between 3.5% and 4.5%. The company said its gross profit rate grew by 96 basis points in the second quarter, primarily led by the impact of tariff refunds in the U.S.
On Wednesday, Target reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its full-year sales growth forecast to around 5%. Its shares slipped 1.7% in premarket trading, as Walmart reported results.
-Nora Redmond