Wal-Mart Stores tops 4Q profit expectations, misses revenue forecasts

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) on Thursday reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $4.97 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said it had net income of $1.53. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $1.61 per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.54 per share.

The world's largest retailer posted revenue of $131.57 billion in the period, missing Street forecasts. Analysts expected $132.32 billion, according to Zacks.

Wal-Mart expects full-year earnings to be $4.70 to $5.05 per share.

Wal-Mart shares have climbed slightly since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased 2 percent. The stock has increased 14 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on WMT at http://www.zacks.com/ap/WMT

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Keywords: Wal-Mart Stores, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings