Walmart beats on earnings as online sales surge

Walmart on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates, boosted by an increase of both foot traffic and by strong online sales. However, shares trade down by about 2%.

America's largest brick-and-mortar retailer said US comp sales rose 1.8% versus a year ago, making for the 12th straight quarter with positive results.

Walmart continues to reap the benefits of its Jet.com acquisition. Gross merchandise volume in its e-commerce unit - the value of everything sold online - surged by 67% year-over-year.

The company announced adjusted earnings of $1.08 per share, edging out the Wall Street estimate by a penny. Revenue totaled $123.36 billion, surpassing the $122.84 billion that analysts were expecting.

Walmart said food categories delivered their strongest comp sales performance in five year, as food inflation boosted the performance by "approximately 30 basis points."

Walmart raised the lower end of its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to $4.30 to $4.40 a share after initially anticipating $4.20 to $4.40. Analysts were expecting $4.39.