Will These Numbers From Wal-Mart Be Good Enough for You? (WMT)

Will These Numbers From Wal-Mart Be Good Enough for You?

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on Aug. 16. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Wal-Mart's revenues will grow 5.5% and EPS will improve 7.3%.

The average estimate for revenue is $114.62 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.17.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Wal-Mart logged revenue of $112.27 billion. GAAP reported sales were 8.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $104.19 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, EPS came in at $1.09. GAAP EPS of $1.09 for Q1 were 12% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.97 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 24.6%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.7%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.3%, about the same as the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
The full year's average estimate for revenue is $471.41 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.92.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 6,253 members out of 7,039 rating the stock outperform, and 786 members rating it underperform. Among 1,649 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,515 give Wal-Mart a green thumbs-up, and 134 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Wal-Mart is outperform, with an average price target of $63.40.

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Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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