NEW YORK — Walmart reported stronger sales for its fiscal first quarter, but its profit took a beating as the nation’s largest retailer grappled with surging inflation on food and fuel and higher costs from a snarled global supply chain.
The company also on Tuesday cut its full-year earnings forecast, sending shares down more than 8% in morning trading.
Walmart Inc., based in Bentonville, Arkansas, is among the first major retailers to report quarterly results and is considered a crucial barometer of spending given its size and the breadth of its customer base.
Like many big box retailers, Walmart benefited in the early days of the pandemic as shoppers splurged on food and other necessities, particularly online. But shoppers are resuming to pre-pandemic behaviors like pulling back their spending online and going back to physical stores. And supply chain clogs and surging inflation are presenting challenges for Walmart and other retailers.