Walmart Inc. turned in another blowout quarter as more shoppers sought out its low prices, but the retailer offered a cautious outlook for the current fiscal year because of rising economic uncertainty.
Consumers are getting squeezed as interest rates climb and savings rates fall, Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said Tuesday. That threatens spending even as the company contends with pressures of its own, such as higher interest expense, taxes and the impact of its purchase of full ownership of a South African retailer and a US automation provider.
“Our value proposition is certainly resonating with consumers right now, but there’s a lot of macroeconomic uncertainty,” Rainey said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “We’re adopting a cautious outlook and we want to make sure we’re responsive to whatever environment we’re going to find ourselves in.”
