Major US retailers post higher sales, revenue

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major American retail companies Walmart, Home Depot and Macy's have posted higher income and revenue in latest quarter of their fiscal years, according to their financial results statements released on Tuesday.

Walmart saw its three-month revenue rise to $138.3 billion as of April 30, up 2.7% from $134.6 billion recorded in the same period last year.

The company's stores in the US saw net sales rising 5% to $93.2 billion during the February-April period of this year, from $88.7 billion in the same period of 2020.

President and CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement that e-commerce continues to grow and major stimulus packages by US governments during the pandemic had an impact on the positive financial results.

Department store chain Macy's made net sales of $4.7 billion for the 13 weeks ending on May 1 -- up 56% from the same period of last year.

The company reported net income of $103 million, significantly recovering from a net loss of over $3.5 billion last year.

Chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette also pointed to the relief packages, saying in a statement that the results were "driven by the positive effects of the government stimulus program and expanding vaccine rollout ... including investments in our digital platforms," as e-commerce was strong during lockdowns.

Home improvement retailer Home Depot saw its net sales soar 32% to $37.5 billion over the three months ending on May 2, compared to $28.3 billion a year ago.

Net earnings almost doubled to $4.1 billion, from $2.2 billion, during that period.

Despite strong financial results, the Home Depot stock price was down 0.5% at the New York Stock Exchange at around 11.40 a.m. EDT (1540GMT).

Macy's and Walmart shares were up 0.7% and 2.4%, respectively.