Walmart Stock May Be Worth Considering During The Holiday Shopping Season

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Even as consumers have experienced some continued stress from the prior period of high inflation, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) continues to be one of the biggest winners in the retail space. The retail giant posted another strong quarter of sales and took a positive view on the upcoming holiday season.

The stock is now up more than 60% year to date, as of this writing. The question for investors is, can the momentum in the stock continue? Let's take a closer look at its most recent results and guidance to help find out.

Continuing its string of solid mid-single-digit growth, Walmart's revenue rose 5.5% in the third quarter, which ended Oct. 31, to $169.6 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS), meanwhile, climbed up 14% to $0.58. Both metrics topped analysts' expectations, which called for revenue of $167.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.53.

In the U.S., Walmart store sales increased by 5% to $114.9 billion, while same-store sales climbed 5.3% without fuel. Average ticket increased by 2.1%, while transactions rose by 3.1%. E-commerce sales were a standout, jumping 22%. The e-commerce gains were helped by a big jump in new sellers on its marketplace.

Internationally, Walmart sales climbed 8% to $30.3 billion, and were up over 12% in constant currencies . The company credited this growth to strength at Flipkart (India e-commerce), Walmex (Mexico) and China. It noted Flipkart's big shopping day event fell in Q3 this year versus last year, which helped growth. International e-commerce sales surged 43%, while advertising revenue soared 50%.