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Coronavirus: Business and technology in a pandemic
From cancelled conferences to disrupted supply chains, not a corner of the global economy is immune to the spread of COVID-19.
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Walmart said that its first quarter e-commerce sales were up 74% due to grocery pickup and delivery and added that it is discontinuing Jet.com, which was acquired in 2016.
The retail giant has fared well during the COVID-19 pandemic due to investments in digital transformation and the ability to ramp e-commerce operations. While expenses in the first quarter were higher, Walmart still delivered consolidated operating income of $5.2 billion, up 5.6% from a year ago. Walmart said its US e-commerce operations also curbed its losses.
Like Amazon, Walmart is one of the primary retail winners during the pandemic along with Target. Kohl’s reported earnings and sales dropped more than 40%.
- Amazon could spend $300M on developing COVID-19 testing this quarter
- Jeff Bezos tells Amazon shareowners: “Take a seat” as COVID-19 eats into profits
- Target’s standout performance during COVID-19 aided by digital decisions made in 2017
In the first quarter, Walmart reported earnings of $1.40 a share with adjusted earnings of $1.18 a share. Revenue for Walmart was $134.6 billion, up 8.6% from a year ago.
Wall Street was looking for adjusted earnings of $1.12 a share on revenue of $132.7 billion. Walmart pulled its outlook for fiscal 2021. COVID-19 expenses in the quarter were $900 million including bonuses for associates, the launch of Express Delivery and hiring 235,000 new workers.
Core items in the quarter include:
- Walmart launched Express Delivery in US to deliver goods in under 2 hours as well as utilized its ship from store option in more locations.
- Same store sales were up 10% due to food, consumables and health and wellness.
- E-commerce sales were up 74%.
- Jet.com will be shelved but Walmart said the “acquisition of Jet.com nearly four years ago was critical to accelerating our omni strategy.”
Article source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/walmart-q1-e-commerce-sales-surge-74-as-company-shuts-down-jet-com/#ftag=RSSbaffb68