Walmart Inc. jumped on Tuesday after reporting coronavirus-related stockpiling led to a surge in quarterly sales, underscoring the company’s strong position amid widespread carnage in the U.S.
retail sector. Comparable-store sales, a key retail metric, increased 10% for U.S. Walmart stores in the period, compared with the 8.6% estimate compiled by Consensus Metrix.
That’s the fastest pace of growth in almost two decades. Profit in the quarter also beat expectations. Walmart’s results reinforce how Americans’ spending priorities rapidly shifted to staples and away from discretionary items with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, before pivoting back to items like office equipment, sporting goods and toys as the quarter wore on.