Walmart fourth-quarter sales and earnings top guidance amid muted outlook

Investing.com -- Walmart's (NYSE:WMT) fourth-quarter U.S. sales and earnings beat estimates, although a muted outlook kept a lid on share gains in premarket U.S. trading on Tuesday.

Investors have been keeping close tabs on the firm's outlook, as it is usually seen as an important gauge of strength in U.S. consumer spending -- and, in turn, the path ahead for inflation.

Weighed down by elevated interest rates and high inflation, cost-wary customers have opted to forego shelling out cash on big-ticket items in favor of cheaper purchases. This has provided a recent boost to Walmart's low-cost offerings.

In the three months ended on Jan. 31, total comparable sales in its key U.S. market excluding gasoline purchases jumped by 3.9%, topping expectations of 3.2%, thanks in large part to solid holiday-season e-commerce activity. Adjusted operating income of $7.25 billion was ahead of Wall Street projections.

In a statement, Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said the company is looking to build on this momentum "as we work to bring prices down" for shoppers.

Adjusted earnings per share are seen coming in at between $6.70 to $7.12 during Walmart's 2025 fiscal period. Analysts had called for guidance of $7.09.

Elsewhere, Walmart also announced that it has proposed to buy smart-TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion, as it looks to give its advertisers an additional supply of devices on which they can display ads.