Walmart’s Influence on E-commerce

Walmart (Walmart) announced that sales soared in the fourth quarter, but earnings were lower than expected due to the costs associated with the new crown pneumonia epidemic and continued investment in e-commerce, and pointed out that it expects its sales to increase moderately this year.

The retail giant also announced that it will increase the wages of 425,000 U.S. employees to $13 to $19 per hour from March 13, depending on the location and region of the store.

By then, the average hourly wage will reach more than $15, but the minimum starting wage for workers will remain at $11 per hour.

John Furner, President and CEO of Walmart America, said in a letter to employees: “This is an investment in our employees. At the same time, we have made new innovations in supply chain, automation and technology. Investment. We started to take other actions last year, including special bonuses for fighting the epidemic, raising the salaries of 165,000 key leadership positions, and reorganizing the store’s work model on a team basis.”

As of the fourth quarter on January 31, Wal-Mart had a net loss of US$2.09 billion, or US$0.74 per share, while its profit in the same period last year was US$4.14 billion, or US$1.45 per share. The retailer stated that losses in its UK and Japan operations reduced earnings per share by $2.66.

Adjusted earnings per share were $1.39, which was lower than analysts’ estimates of $1.51. The reason is that the continuation of the new crown pneumonia epidemic has affected costs, causing Walmart to spend US$1.1 billion on epidemic-related costs this quarter.