Walmart Opens Year With Strong Sales, Driven by ‘Upper-Income’ Shoppers

The largest U.S. retailer had robust quarterly results and an upbeat outlook, giving insight into how consumers are weathering high interest rates.

Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, on Thursday reported growth in sales and profit in the first quarter, with a boost from higher-income shoppers.

Walmart said its comparable-store sales in its U.S. business rose 3.8 percent from the quarter a year earlier. Its U.S. e-commerce business jumped 22 percent. Walmart has performed better than retailers dependent on apparel sales, in part because it also sells essential goods like groceries. Consumers are continuing to find places to save on their purchasing after a stretch of high inflation.

Transactions were up 3.8 percent, while the average ticket price showed with each visit people were spending about the same as they did this time last year. Walmart’s quarterly profit, of $5.1 billion, was triple the result a year earlier.

The retailer said consumers from “upper-income households” helped it gain market share, reiterating a trend it has noted since Americans started navigating high inflation a couple of years ago.

Over the past three years, Walmart has gained more share among households earning over $100,000 than any other income bracket, according to Neil Saunders of GlobalData, an analytics and consulting firm.

Walmart’s stock rose in premarket trading, as investors reacted to last quarter’s results and the company’s upgraded forecast for growth this year.