BENTONVILLE — Surprisingly strong sales at Wal-Mart and an optimistic outlook from the world's largest retailer lifted a pall that settled over the entire sector this week.
The company's shares jumped 9 percent before the opening bell Thursday and companies that had been beaten down after universally dismal earnings reports appeared to catch a draft from Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart's revenue climbed to $115.9 billion from $114.83 billion in the quarter, breezing past projections for $112.67 billion in revenue from industry analysts, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research forecast.
Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year rose 1 percent, the seventh consecutive quarterly increase. The sales metric is important because it strips away the volatility of recently opened or closed stores, providing a better look at how a retailer is doing.
Healthy sales at the Bentonville company were announced one day after Target Corp. reported slowing quarterly sales. Target is not alone though, as much of the retail sector is experiencing a sales slowdown, creating a lot of unease. Before Target, Macy's Inc., J.C. Penney Co., Nordstrom Inc. and Kohl's Corp. posted weak first-quarter sales as pressure from off-priced stores like T.J. Maxx and online retailer Amazon.com rises.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.