Walmart’s revenue grew 5.8% to $179.5 billion in the third quarter behind a 27% jump in global e-commerce sales led by store-fulfilled pickup and delivery, and its third-party marketplace.
Online sales for Walmart U.S. (NYSE: WMT) increased 28% year over year, with marketplace growth of 17%. It was the division’s seventh consecutive quarter of e-commerce growth above 20%. Sales for same-day delivery increased almost 70%, with nearly 35% of store-fulfilled orders delivered in under three hours, the retail giant said Thursday in an earnings report for the quarter ended Oct. 31.
The nation’s largest retailer says it can deliver to about 95% of U.S. households in under three hours, up from 93% late last year and 76% two years ago. Expedited delivery service is popular, even among shoppers with lower incomes, CFO John David Rainey said in an interview on CNBC.
The company also announced it is transferring its stock listing to the Nasdaq from the New York Stock Exchange, effective Dec. 9, essentially saying its omnichannel strategy, backed by investment in AI-powered tools, supply chain automation and e-commerce logistics technology, makes it more of a player in the tech-oriented economy. The Nasdaq is typically where newer, growth-oriented companies list common stock.
It was Walmart’s first earnings report since announcing last week that John Furner, 51, will succeed Doug McMillon, 59, as president and CEO, on Feb. 1. Furner, who began his career as an hourly associate, currently heads Walmart U.S.
Increased deployment of supply chain automation has improved efficiency, according to the company. In the United States, more than 60% of stores receive some freight from automated distribution centers and more than 50% of e-commerce fulfillment center volume is automated, which is driving better unit productivity and helping to lower delivery costs.
Walmart said this holiday season it will test dynamic delivery windows for online shoppers, with delivery estimates that display delivery times down to the minute replacing static one-hour promises for eligible items. The AI-supported system factors in live traffic and driver location to give customers a more accurate delivery timetable. Some customers are already seeing sub-30-minute express estimates. The system is expected to be fully rolled out by the end of the fiscal year on Jan. 31.
Walmart International’s e-commerce sales were up 26% in the third quarter, while e-commerce revenue at Sam’s Club increased 22%. Grocery e–commerce sales were up by double digits, the company reported.
Almost a third of Walmart’s business outside the U.S. is digital, with e-commerce in China representing 50% of total sales. China deliveries are even faster than in the U.S., with nearly 80% of online orders arriving in under an hour, said McMillon.
Adjusted operating income was up 8% to $7.2 billion and adjusted earnings per share increased 6.9% to 62 cents.
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