I found various notable items in Walmart’s Q3 2017 management call transcript (pdf) dated November 17, 2016. (as well, there is Walmart’s press release of the Q3 results and related presentation materials)
I view Walmart’s results and comments as particularly noteworthy given their retail prominence and focus on low prices. I have previously commented on their quarterly management call comments; these previous posts are found under the “paycheck to paycheck” label.
Here are various excerpts that I find most notable:
comments from Doug McMillon, President and CEO, page 4:
Comp store sales grew 1.2 percent in Walmart U.S., driven by a traffic increase of 0.7 percent. Greg Foran, our U.S. leadership team and our associates continue to execute our plan to win, and it’s working. Our customer satisfaction scores continue to improve, and the team did a great job of managing the flow of inventory again this quarter. Comp store inventory was down approximately 6 percent and in-stock levels are up.
comments from Brett Biggs, EVP & CFO, page 8:
During this transformational time, a key priority remains using our financial strength to provide strong cash returns to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. In the quarter, we paid approximately $1.5 billion in dividends and repurchased 19.6 million shares for approximately $1.4 billion. Year-to-date, we have now returned $10.9 billion to shareholders. As of the end of the third quarter, we have utilized approximately $8.7 billion of the current $20 billion share repurchase authorization.
comments from Brett Biggs, EVP & CFO, page 9:
As a result, operating income declined 11.3 percent for the quarter. Excluding last year’s lease accounting adjustment, operating income would have declined 9.8 percent.
_____
The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation
SPX at 2187.49 as this post is written
No comments:
Post a Comment