08:46 AM EDT, 05/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Walmart ( WMT ) on Thursday recorded better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results buoyed by gains across all operating segments, prompting the retail giant to raise its full-year guidance.

The company now anticipates to be at the high end or "slightly" above its original fiscal 2025 outlook for per-share adjusted earnings and sales growth. In February, Walmart ( WMT ) issued a forecast for adjusted EPS to be between $2.23 and $2.37, with sales to increase by 3% to 4% at constant currency. The consensus on Capital IQ is for normalized EPS of $2.37 and revenue of $670.35 billion for the fiscal year.

"We'll revisit our full-year guidance as we exit (the second quarter)," Chief Financial Officer Rainey said on an earnings call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. "This is more aligned with our historic cadence of updates and consistent with the philosophy we have as a management team to recognize early momentum, but to also maintain prudence early in the year given the macro uncertainty, and so much of the year is still ahead of us."

For the quarter ended April 26, the company's adjusted EPS advanced to $0.60 from $0.49, beating the Street's view for $0.52. Sales gained 5.9% to $159.94 billion, ahead of the Street's view for $158.14 billion. Total revenue, which includes membership and other income, rose 6% to $161.51 billion.

US comparable sales rose 3.8%, above the 3.6% rate markets were expecting, boosted by a 22% jump in e-commerce. Same-store sales in Sam's Club moved 4.4% higher, excluding fuel, led by food and consumables, as well as transaction and unit volume increases. Revenue in Walmart's ( WMT ) international segment climbed to $29.83 billion from $26.6 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Gross margin expanded by 42 basis points to 24.1% due to improvement across all segments, according to the company. Operating, selling, general and administrative expenses widened to $33.24 billion from $30.78 billion on an annual basis.

"We're growing traffic and units and our inventories are in excellent shape," Rainey said on the call. "We're on a multiyear journey to reshape our profit profile and operating income growth trajectory, and this quarter reflects the benefits of improved margins in our core retail operations as well as contributions from business mix."

For the current quarter, Walmart ( WMT ) estimates adjusted EPS to be in a range of $0.62 to $0.65, while the Street is looking for $0.64. Sales are pegged to rise by 3.5% to 4% higher at constant currency.

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