Net Sales
4 Weeks Ended Percent 13 Weeks Ended Percent
5/4/2007 5/5/2006 Change 5/4/2007 5/5/2006 Change
Wal-Mart Stores $16.870 $16.795 0.4% $56.559 $53.603 5.5%
Sam's Club 3.272 3.145 4.0% 10.587 9.993 5.9%
International 6.426 5.685 13.0% 20.471 17.480 17.1%
Total Company $26.568 $25.625 3.7% $87.617 $81.076 8.1%
Comparable store sales for the four-week and 13-week periods ending May 4, 2007, and May 5, 2006, respectively, were as follows:
Four Weeks Comparable Store Sales
Without Fuel With Fuel Fuel Impact
5/4/2007 5/5/2006 5/4/2007 5/5/2006 5/4/2007 5/5/2006
Wal-Mart Stores -4.6% 5.4% -4.6% 5.4% 0.0% 0.0%
Sam's Club 2.5% 3.0% 2.3% 3.9% -0.2% 0.9%
Total U.S. -3.5% 5.0% -3.5% 5.1% 0.0% 0.1%
Thirteen Weeks Comparable Store Sales
Without Fuel With Fuel Fuel Impact
5/4/2007 5/5/2006 5/4/2007 5/5/2006 5/4/2007 5/5/2006
Wal-Mart Stores 0.0% 3.4% 0.0% 3.4% 0.0% 0.0%
Sam's Club 4.7% 4.2% 4.3% 4.8% -0.4% 0.6%
Total U.S. 0.7% 3.5% 0.7% 3.6% 0.0% 0.1%
The Company reports net sales on a monthly basis based upon the 4-5-4 retail calendar. For earnings releases, the Company reports sales based upon the calendar months within the quarter and the fiscal year. Total net sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2008 ended April 30, 2007 were approximately $85.4 billion.
Wal-Mart Stores
Sales at the Wal-Mart Stores segment for the April four-week period overall were impacted negatively by weather conditions throughout most of the United States. An earlier Easter season this year also drove some seasonal sales into the March five-week reporting period, as reported last month.
Grocery continued to be stronger than general merchandise. Perishables such as bread, dairy, produce and frozen foods, were among the strengths in grocery. Pharmacy sales, driven by the $4 generic prescription offerings, continued to perform well. In the entertainment area, sales of flat panel TVs, digital audio products and laptop computers continue to demonstrate gains over the same period last year.
Sales in apparel, home and hard lines at Wal-Mart Stores were soft, as the cold weather affected traffic and seasonal merchandise. The product recalls by several manufacturers in the dog and cat food category contributed to a slowdown in pet supply sales during the April reporting period. The Company is resuming shipments of selected pet food products this week and expects a turnaround in the category sales by the end of May.
In Wal-Mart's monthly national survey among discount store consumers, concern about the rise in gas prices has increased steadily since January of this year. For March, the latest data available, the top three concerns among discount store consumers, as well as regular Wal-Mart shoppers, were money/income/finances, the cost of living and gas prices.
Sam's Club
Category strengths for Sam's Club for the April reporting period included food, pharmacy, electronics and home. As with Wal-Mart, seasonal categories were impacted negatively by cooler weather. Business member traffic and ticket continue to improve, highlighted by a strong performance in business- related categories during National Small Business Week.
International
Within the international segment, the United Kingdom's Asda stores contributed significantly to the April reporting period. Customer-focused initiatives helped drive increased traffic and accelerate sales in food and general merchandise categories.
Guidance
The Company expects comparable store sales in the U.S. for the May four- week reporting period to be 1 to 2 percent, said Tom Schoewe, executive vice president and chief financial officer. The May four-week reporting period runs from May 5 through June 1, 2007. Comparable store sales for the second quarter of fiscal year 2008 are expected to be between 1 and 2 percent.
The Company will announce its first quarter earnings May 15 before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange.
As previously noted, the Company reports net sales and comparable store sales consistent with the National Retail Federation (NRF) calendar. The NRF calendar for the most recently completed year included 53 weeks, but includes only 52 weeks this year. The weekly sales information for the four-week and 13-week periods ended May 5, 2006 reported in this release match the comparable weeks for the current fiscal year. However, these four-week and 13-week comparable store sales periods reported for last year ended April 28, 2006, one week earlier.
The Company has posted on its web site, http://www.walmartstores.com/investors , a "reclassification" document showing prior year comparable store sales re-grouped to match the comparable weeks for the current reporting calendar.
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, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. The Company's securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartstores.com . Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com .
This release contains statements that Wal-Mart believes are "forward- looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are intended to enjoy the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by that act. These forward- looking statements include statements as to our management's expectation for sales of pet food products in May 2007 and management's expectation and estimate of comparable store sales for the May four-week reporting period, and the second quarter of fiscal 2008. These statements are identified by use of the words "expects" or "expected" in the statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, domestically and internationally, including consumer spending patterns and debt levels, unemployment levels, fuel prices, inflation levels, weather conditions, competitive pressures and other risks. We discuss certain of these matters and other risk factors more fully in our filings with the SEC, including our last Annual Report on Form 10-K. This release should be read in conjunction with that Annual Report on Form 10-K and certain other Company filings with the SEC through the date of this release. The Company urges you to consider all of these risks, uncertainties and other factors carefully in evaluating these forward-looking statements and not to place undue reliance on such statements. As a result of these and other matters, including changes in facts, assumptions not being realized or other circumstances, our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
SOURCE Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Investor Relations, +1-479-273-8446, or Carol Schumacher, +1-479-277-1498, or Pauline Tureman, +1-479-277-9558, or Media Relations, John Simley, +1-800-331-0085, all of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
