Walmart (WMT), a multinational omnichannel retailer, will report its third-quarter 2021 earnings on November 16.
Walmart’s online presence has grown dramatically in tandem with its already robust offline retail network as a result of increased digitization. WMT’s e-commerce sales in the United States increased by 6% year-over-year and by 103% over a two-year period in Q2. Even Walmart CEO Doug McMillon expressed optimism about the company’s e-commerce growth on the Q2 conference call.
Here, we have utilized TipRanks’ Website Traffic tool to evaluate Walmart’s internet traffic and obtain a better picture of the company’s e-commerce operations ahead of the Q3 print.
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Web Traffic Details
During the third quarter, we saw that total unique visitors to the company’s website from all devices dropped by almost 2.6% year-over-year to 2.3 billion. During the same time period, the stock price increased by 9.6%.
When we compare the number of unique visitors to the company’s website over a year-to-date (YTD) period, the trend differs. Visitors to the company’s website have climbed by 12.4% YTD.
In October, global traffic to the Walmart website reached 759.2 million, a decrease of 7% from the previous month. Increased competition from other stores, such as Amazon (AMZN), may have contributed to the drop.
Q3 Expectations
Management raised its full-year 2021 profits guidance to $6.20 – $6.35 per share on the Q2 conference call, which investors should be aware of. Meanwhile, the business expects adjusted profits of $1.30 to $1.40 per share in the third quarter.
Walmart should see robust retail sales in the upcoming quarter as the economy gains steam and the holiday season approaches. However, there are still dangers associated with pandemic-related outbreaks at the company’s physical locations.
Wall Street’s Take
Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parikh expects the company to do well in the third quarter, and feels it is well-positioned for the Christmas season.
According to current statistics, the grocery sector is gaining pace, fueled by rising food costs, particularly in the Fresh segment, commented Parikh. He also believes that owing to Walmart’s supply chain advancements, the general merchandise market will continue to thrive.
As a result, he reaffirmed a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $170.
Turning to the rest of the Street, Walmart stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 19 Buys and 4 Holds. The average Walmart price target of $171.74 implies 15.7% upside potential from current levels.
Disclosure: At the time of publication, Shalu Saraf did not have a position in any of the securities mentioned in this article.
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