Retail giant Walmart (WMT) is set to announce its Q4 FY25 results today. WMT stock has gained over 79% over the past year, fueled by strong e-commerce growth and market share gains from smaller retailers. Wall Street analysts expect the company to report earnings of $0.65 per share for Q4, up 8% year-over-year. Further, revenues are expected to rise by 11% from the same quarter last year, reaching $179.95 billion, according to data from the TipRanks Forecast page.
Discover the Best Stocks and Maximize Your Portfolio:
- See what stocks are receiving strong buy ratings from top-rated analysts.
- Filter, analyze, and streamline your search for investment opportunities with TipRanks’ Stock Screener.
Interestingly, WMT has a solid earnings surprise history. The company exceeded earnings estimates in all the previous nine quarters.
Analysts’ Views on WMT Ahead of Q4 Results
Ahead of Walmart’s Q4 results, most analysts reaffirmed their Buy rating and raised their price targets on the stock. One such analyst is Peter J. Keith of Piper Sandler, who raised his price target on the stock to $118 from $93 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing a stronger sales environment and continued market share gains. He highlighted that Walmart stock is already up 15% year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500’s (SPX) 4% gain.
The firm expects Walmart’s sales to benefit in early 2025 as consumers are buying big-ticket items like electronics sooner to avoid potential price hikes from tariffs. This trend, seen across big-box retailers, could temporarily boost sales as people rush to make purchases before prices go up. Further, Keith increased his Q4 U.S. comp sales estimate to 4.5% from 2.5%, noting Walmart’s steady EBIT growth despite weak discretionary spending.
Similarly, another analyst, Peter Benedict of Robert W. Baird, raised his price target on Walmart to $115 from $100 while maintaining an Outperform rating. The firm anticipates solid Q4 results and believes Walmart’s growth momentum will continue into 2025.
Options Traders Anticipate a 5.05% Move
Using TipRanks’ Options tool, we can see what options traders are expecting from the stock immediately after its earnings report. The expected earnings move is determined by calculating the at-the-money straddle of the options closest to expiration after the earnings announcement. If this sounds complicated, don’t worry, the Options tool does this for you.
Indeed, it currently says that options traders are expecting a 5.05% move in either direction.
Is Walmart Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on WMT stock based on 26 Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. The analysts’ average price target on WMT stock of $110.04 implies an upside potential of 6.03%.
