Walmart Set to Outpace Amazon for 2019 -- Update
August 15 2019 - 06:20PM
Dow Jones News
By Gunjan Banerji
Walmart Inc. shares advanced 6.1% Thursday, continuing a winning
streak this year that has lifted it about 21% and put it
neck-in-neck with shares of a highflying tech favorite: Amazon.com
Inc.
The company said Thursday that sales rose in the second quarter
and it even raised its profit forecasts for the year, making it one
of the S&P 500's top gainers. Its shares recorded the biggest
jump since August 2018.
Walmart has now narrowly surpassed Amazon's advance year to
date. This is notable to some because Amazon is a favorite for
investors seeking fast-growing companies. The e-commerce giant's
gains have even helped propel major U.S. stock indexes higher this
year. Amazon stock is up about 18.3% this year as of Thursday.
This "would have been surprising to anybody two-and-a-half years
ago," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD
Ameritrade.
Walmart's jump also highlights the varying fates of many
retailers in the U.S. This was on display this morning after strong
retail-sales data. Though American shoppers are providing a boost
to the U.S. economy, their spending isn't lifting shares of many
retailers.
Retail sales, a measure of purchases at stores, restaurants and
online climbed 0.7% in July from a month earlier, above what
economists' expected.
"We've seen the divergence all year long" among retailers, said
Ilya Feygin, a managing director at WallachBeth Capital. He said
that retailers that have been able to adapt to changing tastes
among consumers have done well, while others have fared poorly.
For example, shares of Ralph Lauren Corp. fell 3.2% in trading
Thursday, while Tiffany & Co. fell about 2.6%. Tapestry Inc.
dropped 22% after it lowered earnings guidance, making it the
S&P 500's biggest loser on Thursday.
The retailers' losses are even more striking because major U.S.
stock indexes bounced higher Thursday after steep declines
Wednesday.
Other retailers like Nordstrom Inc., Gap Inc. and Foot Locker
Inc. are scheduled to report earnings next week, and winners and
losers among retail heavyweights will likely become clearer.
Write to Gunjan Banerji at Gunjan.Banerji@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 15, 2019 18:05 ET (22:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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