Walmart Surges, Home Depot Stumbles: Retail Giants Navigate Conflicted Economy
Walmart Surges, Home Depot Stumbles: Retail Giants Navigate Conflicted Economy
There is such a slew of conflicting indicators and commentary on the economy swirling around these days that it may be hard to get a grip on how the consumer is doing.
如今,圍繞經濟的相互矛盾的指標和評論如此之多,以至於可能很難把握消費者過得如何。
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT), the world's largest retailer, beat Wall Street forecasts for second-quarter profits and sales as it posted $4.5 billion in net profit, down from $7.89 billion a year ago, and $169 million in revenue, up from $162 million in revenue a year earlier.
全球最大零售商沃爾瑪公司(NYSE:WMT)公佈了第二季度利潤和銷售額,淨利潤達45億美元,低於去年的78.9億美元,營業收入爲16900萬美元,高於去年同期的16.2億美元,超過了華爾街的預測。
It also raised its full-year outlook by forecasting revenue to increase from 3.75% to 4.75%, up from previous guidance of a 3% to 4% rise in revenue, and adjusted earnings to range from $2.35 and $2.43 per share, up from prior expectations between 3% and 4%, CNBC reported.
根據CNBC的報道,沃爾瑪公司還上調了全年預期,將營收預期從3.75%至4.75%提高至先前預期3%至4%的營收增長率,並將調整後的每股收益範圍從先前預期的3%至4%上調至2.35美元和2.43美元之間。
During Thursday's earnings call, CFO John David Rainey said consumers are spending money, but economic indicators are still prompting the retail giant to proceed carefully.
在週四的業績會上,首席財務官約翰·大衛·雷尼表示,消費者正在消費,但經濟指標仍在促使這家零售巨頭謹慎前進。
"While we have not seen any additional fraying of consumer health in our business, other economic data out there, as well as the state of affairs globally, would suggest that it's prudent to remain appropriately cautious with our outlook," he said.
"雖然我們在業務中沒有看到消費者健康狀況的進一步削弱,而其他的經濟數據以及全球的情況則表明,對於前景保持適當的謹慎是明智的," 他說。
Two days earlier, fellow retail giant Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) cut its sales outlook for 2024, saying it expects a 3% to 4% decline in comparable sales versus the 1% dip that it forecasted previously as it sees consumers holding back on spending due to elevated interest rates.
兩天前,同樣是零售業巨頭的家得寶公司(Home Depot Inc.,NYSE:HD)削減了其2024年的銷售預期,稱預計可比銷售將下降3%至4%,而不是之前預測的1%下降,因爲由於利率上漲,消費者在支出方面有所保留。
"There's just a lot of noise with political and geopolitical environment, unemployment ticked up, inflation keeps eating away at disposable income," CEO Ted Decker said during Tuesday's earnings call.
"目前政治和地緣政治環境噪音很大,失業率有所上升,通貨膨脹持續侵蝕可支配收入," 首席執行官泰德·德克說道。
"And I think people just took a pause as we progress through the quarter or more of a pause because of these macro uncertainties."
"我認爲,隨着季度的推移,人們只是暫停了或更多地因爲這些宏觀不確定性而暫停了。"
Home Depot posted a $4.7 billion profit for the second quarter, up from $4.6 billion a year ago. Revenue came in at $43.2 billion, up 0.6% from a year earlier, while comparable sales fell 3.3% year over year.
家得寶公司第二季度營業利潤爲47億美元,高於去年同期的46億美元。營業收入爲432億美元,同比增長0.6%,可比銷售同比下降3.3%。
Meanwhile, retail sales in the U.S. grew 1% month over month and 2.7% year over year in July, according to Thursday's report from the Department of Labor, but credit-card delinquencies rose $27 billion during the second quarter to a record $1.14 trillion, according to an Aug. 6 report from the Federal Bank of New York.
與此同時,美國的零售銷售在7月觀察呈現出了1%的月度增長和2.7%的同比增長,但根據8月6日聯邦儲備銀行的報告,信用卡逾期拖欠在第二季度上升了270億美元,達到創紀錄的1.14萬億美元。
While higher retail sales, though getting funded by credit cards, may indicate that consumers are doing okay, falling commodity prices suggest otherwise, CNBC reported.
根據CNBC的報道,即使零售銷售增長,也需要透過使用信用卡融資,這可能表明消費者的情況還算平穩,但商品價格下跌則說明另一種情況。
The Invesco DB Base Metals Fund (NYSE:DBB) is down more than 7% over the past month, while crude oil futures dropped 14% from July 5 through Aug. 5.
景順(Invesco)巴基斯坦金屬基金(NYSE:DBB)在過去一個月中下降了超過7%,而WTI原油期貨從7月5日到8月5日下跌了14%。
"In terms of commodities, the entire asset class is coming under pressure," Rob Ginsberg, managing director at Wolfe Research, told clients in a note.
Wolfe研究的董事總經理羅布·金斯伯格在一份報告中告訴客戶:“就商品而言,整個資產類別都面臨着壓力。我們認爲這些商品價格的普遍下跌是對經濟狀況的又一次警告。"
"We see this broad decline in commodity prices as yet another warning about the state of the economy."
"儘管零售銷售出現了上升的趨勢,但勞工部7月的就業報告顯示,失業率從6月上升了0.2%,至4.3%。"
And while retail sales showed an upswing, the Department of Labor's July jobs report showed unemployment rose 0.2% from June to 4.3%.
儘管零售銷售表現出現上升,但是勞工部七月的就業報告顯示,失業率從六月上升了0.2%,達到4.3%。
Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: shutterstock