Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is offering a profit outlook below Wall Street expectations as economic pressures weigh on its low-income shoppers around the world. The world's largest retailer also saw its fourth-quarter profit drop 21 percent.
Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., said Thursday that it earned $4.43 billion, or $1.36 per share, in the quarter ended Jan. 31. That compares with $5.6 billion, or $1.67 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding charges related to closing stores in Brazil and China, Wal-Mart earned $1.60 per share. Net revenue was up 1.4 percent to $128.79 billion.
Analysts were expecting $1.59 per share on revenue of $129.9 billion, according to FactSet. Revenue at stores open at least a year fell 0.4 percent, the fourth consecutive quarterly decline.