BENTONVILLE, Ark., Jan. 5 -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported net sales for the five-week period ending December 30, 2005, and December 31, 2004, as follows (dollars in billions):
5 Weeks Ended 48 Weeks Ended
Percent Percent
12-30-2005 12-31-2004 Change 12-30-2005 12-31-2004 Change
Wal-Mart Stores $27.920 $26.177 6.7% $194.861 $177.889 9.5%
SAM'S CLUB 4.605 4.396 4.8% 36.939 34.441 7.3%
International 8.301 7.851 5.7% 58.488 52.683 11.0%
Total Company $40.826 $38.424 6.3% $290.288 $265.013 9.5%
Comparable sales for the periods ending December 30, 2005 and December 31, 2004, were as follows:
5 Weeks Ended 48 Weeks Ended
12-30-2005 12-31-2004 12-30-2005 12-31-2004
Wal-Mart Stores 1.9% 2.8% 3.2% 2.9%
SAM'S CLUB 3.6% 5.4% 5.0% 6.3%
Total U.S. 2.2% 3.2% 3.5% 3.5%
During the five-week and forty-eight-week periods, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. added over $2.4 billion and $25.2 billion in sales, respectively.
We estimate comparable sales in the U.S. for the January four-week period to be in the 3 to 5 percent range.
We estimate earnings per share for the fourth fiscal quarter to come in near the low end of our guidance of $0.82 to $0.86 per share.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart 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 and Pacific stock exchanges 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 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, which discuss our management's forecast of comparable sales for the January four-week period and earnings per share for the fourth fiscal quarter, appear in the paragraphs following the comparable sales table in this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, domestically and internationally, including, consumer spending patterns and debt levels, 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 other filings with the SEC through the date of this report. 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 January four-week period and earnings per share for the fourth fiscal quarter may differ materially from forecasts discussed in the forward-looking statements. The forward- looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this report, and we undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
SOURCE: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
CONTACT: investor relations, Investor Relations, +1-479-273-8446, or
Carol Schumacher, +1-479-277-1498, or Pauline Tureman, +1-479-277-9558, or
media relations, Marty Heires, +1-479-273-4314, all of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010831/WALMARTLOGO
Web site: http://www.walmartstores.com
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