Walmart’s sales growth falls to 6-year low as Middle American shoppers go on strike

Walmart experienced the slowest growth in U.S. comparable sales in six years during its most recent quarter and it offered a cautious outlook for the year, sending company shares down 6% before the opening bell Thursday.

Comparable sales in U.S. stores, which measure sales at stores open at least a year along with online sales tied to those locations, rose 2.6% in the second quarter.

They rose 4.1% in the previous quarter.

Excluding the wellness category that includes Walmart’s pharmacies, comparable sales increased 3.4% in the second quarter.

Those sales were hit by federal legislation that requires pharmacies to dispense some high-cost Medicare drugs at capped prices, the retailer said.

That was still below analysts’ projections of a 3.8% increase, according to FactSet.

Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce business, which has become an engine of growth for the retailer, rose 24%, trailing the first-quarter pace of 26%.

Walmart is among the first batch of major retailers to report second-quarter results, which could offer industry analysts and economists another read on whether ongoing price pressures from the conflict in Iran have impacted consumer behavior.

Walmart is considered a barometer of consumer spending given its vast customer base.

More than 150 million customers are on its website or in its stores every week, according to Walmart.

That may draw even more attention this quarter after U.S. data released Friday showed that retail sales were surprisingly weak in July and a new read on consumers from the University of Michigan revealed growing pessimism about the economy, with so many Americans struggling with higher costs for gas, groceries and just about everything else.

The new figures from Walmart revealed the smallest gain in comparable store sales since a 1.9% gain for the quarter ended Jan.

31, 2020, according to FactSet.

That has broadened Walmart’s customer base and the retailer has begun capturing a larger share of wealthier Americans.