Walmart (WMT) stock rose 0.7% in afternoon trading Thursday, putting it on track to close at a record high, well ahead of the discount retail giant’s top rivals. The stock is trading 0.4% above its last closing price of $165.25 on September 14th. Walmart is scheduled to announce its third quarter results on November 16th. The company has topped adjusted earnings per share estimates in each of the past five quarters, same-store sales in each of the past six quarters, and total sales in each of the past 14 quarters, according to FactSet data. Meanwhile, the stock price of main rival Target Corp. (TGT) rose 1.4% on Thursday. Since closing at a 3-1/2-year low of $105.01 on October 6, the stock has risen 5.7%, but is still 58.3% below its all-time high of $111.04 on November 16, 2021. Amazon.com stock (AMZN) rose 0.4% on Thursday, but was still 26.1% below its July 8, 2021 high closing price of $186.57. Additionally, shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), a member-based warehouse retailer that competes with Walmart Inc.’s Sam’s Club, rose 1.8% on Thursday, but fell below its all-time high of $608.05 on April 7, 2022. It was down 8.4%. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP), of which Walmart stock is a constituent, rose 1.4% on Thursday, but was 14.7% below its record closing price on April 20, 2022, while the S&P 500 The index rose 1.8%, but rose 10.1%. It was lower than the closing price recorded on January 3, 2022.
-Tommi Kilgore
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11-02-23 1500ET
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