Walmart is seeing gains from its advertising business and expanding its data analysts and insights product, Walmart Luminate, into Mexico and Canada. The retail giant’s advertising business was up 24% in the latest quarter, with U.S. ad sales reflecting more than 50% growth from marketplace sellers while overall active advertiser counts increasing nearly 19%. Sam’s ad business now has 30% more active advertisers from last year. Advertising, membership, marketplace and fulfillment and data analytics are higher-margin growth drivers, and they are leading to corresponding improvements in Walmart’s business mix, Finance Chief John D. Rainey says on a call. Shares rise 6% to $63.40.

The following is a summary of the Walmart Inc. (WMT) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript: Financial Performance: Walmart Inc. had a strong Q1 with a 5.7% increase in sales growth and a 12.9% increase in adjusted operating profit in constant currency. All operating segments saw increased growth driven primarily by growth in units sold and transaction counts. Inventory management improved, resulting in a decrease of 2.7% globally. Operational income for the quarter improved by about $900 million. Gross margins are improving due to reduced markdowns and higher contributions from newer businesses. The international operations performed well with a top-line growth of 10.7% and operating income growth of 27%. Business Progress: The company has made notable improvements in customer experience. Store remodels, improvements in curbside pick-up, and delivery services have been carried out. Walmart has launched a new private food brand, Better Goods, in the U.S. The number of marketplace sellers

Walmart’s share gains continued to be mainly driven by upper-income households in the 1Q, the retail giant says. U.S. comparable stores sales excluding fuel rose 3.8% in the period. Still, its average ticket remained flat. Overall in the quarter, Walmart saw strength across all operating segments, with global ecommerce sales growing 21% as a result of its in store-fulfilled pickup and delivery. Shares rise 5.5% to $63.14 in premarket trading.

Walmart (WMT) on Thursday recorded better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results buoyed by gains across all operating segments, prompting the retail giant to raise its full-year guidance. The company now anticipates to be at the high end or “slightly” above its original fiscal 2025 outlook for per-share adjusted earnings and sales growth. In February, Walmart issued a forecast for adjusted EPS to be between $2.23 and $2.37, with sales to increase by 3% to 4% at constant currency. The consensus on Capital IQ is for normalized EPS of $2.37 and revenue of $670.35 billion for the fiscal year. “We’ll revisit our full-year guidance as we exit (the second quarter),” Chief Financial Officer Rainey said on an earnings call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. “This is more aligned with our historic cadence of updates and consistent with the philosophy we have as a management team to recognize early momentum, but to also