Thanks for your charts, Wal-Mart data should help tomorrow, Stan.
Wal-Mart Earnings Rise 16.3 Percent
1 hour, 48 minutes ago Add Business - AP to My Yahoo!
news.yahoo.com
By CHUCK BARTELS, Associated Press Writer
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., boosted by strong sales at its international and flagship discount stores, reported a 16.3 percent increase in fourth-quarter profits, beating analysts' expectations.
For the three months ending Jan. 31, Wal-Mart earned $2.53 billion, or 57 cents per share, compared with $2.19 billion, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of 56 cents per share.
Sales for the quarter were $71.07 billion, up 10.7 percent from $64.2 billion a year earlier.
Wal-Mart president and chief executive Lee Scott said future profits would in part be driven by the company's global sourcing network, which enables it to buy products more cheaply and move them into the supply chain more quickly.
The company forecast first-quarter earnings of 40 cents to 42 cents per share and fiscal 2004 earnings of $2 to $2.05 per share. Analysts expect 42 cents for the first quarter and $2.04 for the fiscal year.
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