Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, today reported a 23 per cent jump in quarterly profits, but its shares slipped in pre-market trading as it gave what some analysts viewed as a cautious outlook for fourth-quarter earnings.
The retailer said it was confident of a "successful and record" fourth quarter, which includes the critical holiday shopping season. However, some analysts were concerned that Wal-Mart forecast fourth-quarter earnings at the low end of Wall Street expectations.
In a recorded conference call, Wal-Mart forecast sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, would be up 3 per cent to 5 per cent in the fourth quarter, which was better than some analysts had expected.
Wal-Mart said it earned $1.82 billion in the third quarter, up from $1.48 billion, in the same period a year earlier.
Wal-Mart's third-quarter sales totaled $58.8 billion, up 11.5 per cent from a year earlier, helped by new store openings. Wal-Mart has more than 3,200 stores in the United States and 1,100 in international markets.