Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT - Free Report) is a multinational retailer that runs large department stores and warehouse store chains. The company has more than 11,600 stores in 28 countries.

Of late, Wal-Mart is delivering positive comps at Wal-Mart U.S., after delivering negative comps since the third quarter of fiscal 2013. Moreover, traffic improved for the tenth consecutive quarter, owing to the company’s efforts to modernize stores for higher footfall and improvement in consumer spending. However, the company has been facing huge expense burden of late, due to higher investments in e-commerce initiatives. This along with unfavorable currency is taking a toll on the results.

Earnings Estimates Revision: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2018 has increased by 0.2% in the last seven days. However, it remained unchanged at $4.59 per share for fiscal 2019 in the same time frame. In the trailing four quarters, excluding quarter under review, the company exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of nearly 2.98%.

Zacks Rank: Currently, WMT has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here. The Zacks Rank could definitely change following Wal-Mart’s earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:

Earnings: WMT posted earnings of $1.08 per share, beating our consensus of $1.07 per share. Investors should note that these figures take out stock option expenses.

Revenue: WMT posted revenues of $123.355 billion. This marginally beat our consensus estimate of $122.709 billion.

Key Stats to Note: Wal-Mart U.S. comparable store sales increased 1.8% in the second quarter, driven by 1.3% growth in traffic. Comps at the Sam’s Club increased 1.2% on the back of 2.1% traffic growth.

Stock Price: Shares of Wal-Mart declined around 1.2% in the pre-market trading.