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Rumors of shoppers pulling back on spending have been beaten back, with Walmart<\/a> on Thursday proved that it remains a retailer in a class of its own. <\/p>\n The U.S.\u2019 largest retailer beat analyst expectations, reporting quarterly earnings of $169.3 billion, a 4.8% increase compared to the year before, in its latest earnings call. Sales for the quarter were up 4.2%.\u00a0<\/p>\n As retailers, restaurants, and other consumer business reported feeling a strained shopper base, Walmart\u2019s remained healthy<\/a> and willing to spend.\u00a0The company raised its outlook<\/a> for the rest of 2024 from 3% to 4%, now expecting sales to grow 3.75% to 4.75% for the year.<\/p>\n Overall consumer spending<\/a> has slowed down<\/a> in recent weeks alongside a broader economic pull back. Retail spending report<\/a> for June was flat, according to data from the Census Bureau. However, that was seen as a positive because analysts expected June to be a down month and had forecasted a 0.3% decline.\u00a0The expectation was that Walmart would fare better than other retailers. That turned out to be the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo far we aren\u2019t experiencing a weaker consumer overall,\u201d Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said during the earnings call. \u201cCustomers from all income levels are looking for value and we have it.\u201d<\/p>\n Walmart executives expected that trend to continue through the rest of the year. \u201cI know everyone is looking for some piece of information that maybe indicates further weakness with our members our customers, we\u2019re not seeing it,\u201d said Walmart chief financial officer John David Rainey.<\/p>\n As the largest retailer in the country, with many stories in suburban areas, Walmart can be an illuminating bellwether for the health of the consumer. Even subtle changes in its shoppers can be indicative of underlying changes in consumer behavior. Sales were strong because Walmart\u2019s lower prices had attracted customers with higher incomes, according to Rainey, who added that upper income households accounted for the \u201cmajority of gains\u201d in sales.<\/p>\n Walmart appears to be one of the prime beneficiaries of recent trends<\/a> showing that consumers, including higher-income ones, are bargain hunting<\/a> even for daily necessities. The sheer number of product\u2019s Walmart sells means it isn\u2019t any ordinary retailer. It sells mostly groceries and household goods, consumer staples that aren\u2019t likely to be among the first things cut when consumers tighten their belts, UBS retail analyst Michael Lasser told<\/a> Yahoo<\/a> ahead of the earnings call. \u201cSo what it has been experiencing is going to be a bit different than what other retailers have been experiencing,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an analyst note released last week, Lasser predicted that fact would lead Walmart to raise its full year guidance, which it did.\u00a0\u201c\u200b\u200bWe believe WMT\u2019s [second quarter] results will prove their ability to outperform the broader retail industry in the face of a variety of macro and political factors,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n That said, some consumers, especially lower-income ones, are feeling the pinch of a tightening economy, reporting lower spending and a greater pursuit of values. CEOs of several major CPG companies, like Mondelez, Kraft-Heinz, and PepsiCo<\/a>, who are some of Walmart\u2019s biggest suppliers, said on recent earnings calls that their data showed low income consumers were even more price conscious than usual. Lower income consumers were \u201cstrategizing a lot to make their budgets get to the end of the month,\u201d PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said<\/a> during an earnings call earlier this year.<\/p>\n To stay in line with those trends McMillon said Walmart expected to further lower prices for the remainder of the year. Executives were also wary of foisting higher prices on consumers, especially after many big corporations were accusing of price gouging lately. \u201cWe\u2019re not intending to achieve any of our margin performance by passing this along to our customers and members in the form of higher prices,\u201d Rainey said when discussing the company\u2019s plans for margin expansion.<\/p>\n That said, executives weren\u2019t unaware of some of the mixed signals<\/a> from the economy that some experts believe<\/a> could spell a worsening<\/a> picture. During the call, Rainey called the economic and geopolitical picture \u201cmore uncertain that normal.\u201d Regardless he remained confident of Walmart\u2019s prospects. \u201cWe think that we are positioned very well, irrespective of whether we\u2019re in a more recessionary or more more expansionary period,\u201d Rainey said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n