BENTONVILLE, Ark., June 1 -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported net sales for the four-week and seventeen-week periods ending May 26, 2006, and May 27, 2005, respectively as follows (dollars in billions):
4 Weeks Ended 17 Weeks Ended
Percent Percent
5-26-2006 5-27-2005 Change 5-26-2006 5-27-2005 Change
Wal-Mart Stores $ 16.901 $ 15.697 7.7% $ 70.369 $ 64.343 9.4%
SAM'S CLUB 3.281 3.064 7.1% 13.224 12.393 6.7%
International 6.103 4.660 31.0% 24.216 19.331 25.3%
Total Company $ 26.285 $ 23.421 12.2% $ 107.809 $ 96.067 12.2%
Comparable sales for the periods ending May 26, 2006, and May 27, 2005, were as follows:
4 Weeks Ended 17 Weeks Ended
5-26-2006 5-27-2005 5-26-2006 5-27-2005
Wal-Mart Stores 2.0% 2.8% 3.1% 2.9%
SAM'S CLUB 4.0% 1.8% 4.2% 2.2%
Total U.S. 2.3% 2.7% 3.3% 2.8%
The 31.0% increase for the four-week period and the 25.3% increase for the seventeen-week period in International's net sales includes sales from the consolidation of Seiyu and Wal-Mart Central America and our acquisition in Southern Brazil. These entities added 17.7 and 16.8 percentage points to the net sales increases in International for the four-week and seventeen-week periods, respectively.
During the four-week and seventeen-week periods, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. added more than $2.8 billion and $11.7 billion in sales, respectively.
"Fuel prices continue to be a top concern for our customers," said Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. executive vice president and chief financial officer. "And, with our constant focus on offering every day low prices, Wal- Mart is well positioned to meet their needs. We believe that our customers are consolidating their store visits and focusing their spending on consumables -- a trend that we have been seeing since Easter.
"We were not surprised that traffic was down moderately for the U.S. stores in May, and that average ticket continued to drive our comp," Schoewe added. "We continue, however, to make steady progress on the many initiatives we have under way to achieve growth and improve return on investment."
The Company estimates comparable sales in the U.S. for the June five-week period to be in the 1 to 3 percent range.
Comparable sales that are presented in this release exclude the impact of fuel sales in our SAM'S CLUB segment. Fuel sales impacted the SAM'S CLUB and total U.S. comparable sales figures for the four-week period ending May 26, 2006, by 1.3 and 0.2 percentage points, respectively, and impacted the seventeen-week period by 0.7 and 0.1 percentage points, respectively. Including the impact of fuel sales, the SAM'S CLUB and total U.S. comparable sales figures for the four-week period ending May 26, 2006, would have been 5.3% and 2.5%, respectively, and for the seventeen-week period would have been 4.9% and 3.4%, respectively.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart discount stores, supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and SAM'S CLUB locations in the United States. The company operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The company's securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Arca, formerly the Pacific Stock Exchange, under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartfacts.com . Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com .
This release contains a statement that Wal-Mart believes is a "forward- looking statement" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that is intended to enjoy the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by that Act. This forward-looking statement discusses our management's forecast of comparable sales for the June five-week period. This statement is identified by use of the word "estimates". This forward-looking statement is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, domestically and internationally, including consumer spending patterns and debt levels, fuel prices, weather conditions, competitive pressures, currency exchange fluctuations, trade restrictions, and other risks. We discuss certain of these matters more fully in our filings with the SEC, including our last Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. This release should be read in conjunction with that Annual Report on Form 10-K and our certain other filings with the SEC through the date of this release. We urge you to consider all of these risks, uncertainties and other factors carefully in evaluating this forward-looking statement. As a result of these matters, including changes in facts, assumptions not being realized or other circumstances, our actual comparable sales for the June five-week period may differ materially from the forecast discussed in the forward- looking statement. The forward-looking statement included in this release is made only as of the date of this report, and we undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
SOURCE: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
CONTACT: Carol Schumacher, +1-479-277-1498, or
Pauline Tureman, +1-479-277-9558,
both Investor Relations, +1-479-273-8446, or
media relations, Gail Lavielle, +1-479-273-4314,
all of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
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Web site: http://www.walmartstores.com
