Wal-Mart ( WMT ) reported a stronger third-quarter profit that fell short of Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, as weaker consumer sentiment softened sales in the U.S., the company’s biggest division.
The world’s largest retailer posted consolidated net income of $3.34 billion, or 97 cents a share, down 2.9% from $3.4 billion, or 95 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.
While the results for the three months ended Oct. 31 were inside the company’s forecast, they were just below average analyst estimates polled by Thomson Reuters of 98 cents.
Revenue for the Bentonville, Ark.-based company was $109.5 billion, up 8.2% from $101.24 billion a year ago, trumping the Street’s view of $108.22 billion.
The retail behemoth said comparable sales, or those open longer than a year, exceeded the company’s guidance, with U.S. Wal-Mart sales up 1.3% and those at Sam’s Club up 5.7%. While the increase at U.S. stores marked the first in nine quarters, the company said traffic to those stores fell from a year ago.
Similarly, Saks' chairman and CEO Stephen I. Sadove, told Wall Street last month the company was “carefully moving from defense to offense,” comments echoed 
