Walmart Q1 Results: Co reports profits of $5.10 billion driven by consumers seeking bargains

Walmart reported of $5.10 billion, or 63 cents per share for the quarter ended April 30. That compares with $1.67 billion, or 21 cents per share, in the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share was 60 cents, far surpassing estimates for 53 cents per share, according to FactSet .

rose 6% to $161.51 billion in the quarter, up from $152.3 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts expected $159.6 billion, according to FactSet.

Comparable store sales - those from established stores and online operating over the past 12 months - rose 3.8% at Walmart's U.S. stores, a bit slower than the 4%, in the fourth quarter. The metric rose 4.9% in the fiscal third quarter. Global were up 21% in the latest quarter, compared with 23% during the fourth quarter and 15% in the previous quarter.

Walmart is among the first major U.S. retailers to report quarterly results that could shed more insight into how are feeling, particularly after the government reported an unexpected flattening of spending between March and April.

Home Depot, the nation's largest home improvement retailer, said this week that sales declined for the third consecutive quarter to start 2024 as homeowners and prospective buyers wrestled with higher rates and inflation.

Starbucks last month lowered its sales expectations for the year as visits to its coffee shops slow worldwide. The decline in spending at U.S. stores was even worse than it had anticipated.