Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Thursday reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales at established U.S. stores, hurt by declining food prices and unseasonably warm weather, and its shares fell nearly 3 percent.
Investors shrugged off earnings that slightly exceeded analysts’ estimates. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, also raised the low end of its fiscal-year profit forecast, in line with Target Corp and other rivals that expressed optimism ahead of the holiday shopping season.
“Food deflation continues to be challenging,” Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs told Reuters.