BENTONVILLE, AR - If you are anything like me, you've probably been keeping an eye on Walmart’s upward trajectory in e-commerce, grocery delivery, and international expansion. Well now, the results are finally in. Recently, the behemoth announced that its quarterly results saw a strong finish and a great start to 2020.

“We thank our associates for another good year. In Q4, we saw a strong performance in the U.S. with e-commerce and Sam’s Club plus strength in Mexico, India, and China,” commented Doug McMillon, President and CEO. “We started and finished the quarter with momentum, while sales leading up to Christmas in our U.S. stores were a little softer than expected. The new year has started off well, and we look forward to another strong year. We remain focused on providing our customers with the best omnichannel experience from any retailer.”

Strong leaders beget strong growth. The retailer has been on a hiring spree as of late, bringing on John Furner as its new President and CEO, Walmart. U.S.; Kath McLay as its new President and CEO, Sam’s Club; Suresh Kumar as its new Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer; and Donna Morris as its new Chief People Officer.

Walmart has also put a more concentrated focus on its food and delivery sectors, launching free NextDay delivery from Walmart.com, Delivery Unlimited, and Walmart InHome Delivery last year with nearly 3,200 grocery pickup locations and more than 1,600 delivery locations added.

According to its Q4 FY20 Earnings Release, Walmart saw:

• Total revenue at $141.7 billion, an increase of $2.9 billion, or 2.1 percent
• Walmart U.S. comparative sales increased on a two-year stacked basis by 6.0 percent with continued strength in food and consumables
• Walmart U.S. e-commerce had strong growth in grocery pickup and delivery, and walmart.com had its highest quarterly growth rate of the year
• Sam’s Club comparative sales increased 0.8 percent, and e-commerce sales grew 33 percent
• Net sales at Walmart International were $33.0 billion, an increase of 2.3 percent

Highlights for Fiscal 2020 included:

• Excluding currency, total revenue was $528.1 billion, an increase of $13.7 billion, or 2.7 percent
• Walmart U.S. comparative sales increased 2.8 percent and 6.4 percent on a two-year stacked basis
• Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales grew 37 percent
• Net Promoter Score and the Customer Value Index improved
• International net sales increased 2.8 percent in constant currency with strength in Mexico, China, and India

“The fourth quarter started and ended strong with solid sales growth through Cyber Monday and in January. In the few weeks before Christmas, we experienced some softness in a few general merchandise categories in our U.S. stores. However, Walmart U.S. grocery sales and e-commerce sales were strong throughout the quarter,” Brett Biggs, Chief Financial Officer, said. “Sam’s Club performed well, including solid results in e-commerce. We experienced softness in some key international markets, as well as in Chile, where unrest led to disruption in the majority of our stores. Walmex, China, and Flipkart all had a solid quarter. The holiday season delivered positive transaction growth and underlying expense leverage was strong for the quarter. However, it wasn’t as good as expected due to lower sales volumes and some pressure related to associate scheduling. We understand the factors that affected our results and are developing plans to address them. We remain confident in our business strategy and our ability to deliver value and convenience for our customers through an integrated omnichannel offering across the globe.”

For more details on the quarterly report, click here. For more news in the retail sector, keep reading ANUK.

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