Walmart's International Q4 sales growth driven by Flipkart, Mexico, China

Walmart International’s sales growth during the fourth quarter was led by India's Flipkart, Mexico's Walmex, and China with a strong performance during festive events across markets, according to an earnings report of the US company.

Walmart International comprises the retail giant's operations outside the US, including retail websites.

“Overall and e-commerce sales growth was positively affected by the timing of Flipkart’s The Big Billion Days (BBD) event, which shifted from Q3 last year to Q4 this year,” said Walmart, in its earnings presentation.

Walmart International’s net sales increased to $32.4 billion in Q4 compared to $27.6 billion a year ago. However, its gross profit rate saw a decrease of 39 basis points (bps) during the quarter. This was “due to the timing shift of Flipkart's The Big Billion Days event” from the previous quarter. It was also partially offset by a higher rate in most markets, led by Walmex and Canada.

The international arm’s operating expenses as a percentage of net sales decreased by 410 bps. This was driven by “approximately three-fourths of leverage due to lapping last year's one-time costs incurred for the ownership separation of Flipkart and PhonePe and restructuring in Africa.”

There was also additional leverage from the timing shift of BBD and operational efficiencies.

The advertising business grew 76 per cent, led by Flipkart and Walmex. 

Growth in net sales was 13 per cent and was led by Flipkart, Walmex and China. It was helped by the strong growth of festive events.

Walmart International’s e-commerce sales increased 44 per cent and reached a penetration level of 25 per cent, according to Walmart's chief financial officer (CFO) John David Rainey.

This included Flipkart’s largest-ever BBD event with 1.4 billion customer visits during the eight-day period. Overall, Walmart reported that in Q4 of FY24, revenue was up 5.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to $173.4 billion. Global e-commerce sales grew 23 per cent. And, the global advertising business surged approximately 33 per cent.

“Our team delivered a great quarter, finishing off a strong year.

We crossed $100 billion in e-commerce sales and drove share gains as our customer experience metrics improved, even during our highest volume days leading up to the holidays,” said Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer (CEO), Walmart. 

He added, “We’re proud of the team and excited about building on our momentum as we work to bring prices down for our customers and members.”