Why Walmart Stock Popped Today

Shares of Walmart (NYSE: WMT) rose more than 6% on Thursday after the discount retailer delivered strong fiscal third-quarter profits and boosted its full-year outlook.

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Walmart is gaining market share as shoppers search for bargains

Walmart's revenue rose 5.8% year over year to $179.5 billion in the quarter ended Oct. 31. The gains were broad-based.

Comparable sales for the retail giant's U.S. stores, excluding fuel, grew 4.5%, driven by higher traffic and average order sizes.

Meanwhile, Walmart's global e-commerce sales jumped 27%, fueled by pickup and delivery services, as well as the company's steadily expanding third-party marketplace.

Advertising was a particularly powerful growth driver. Walmart's $2.3 billion acquisition of smart TV maker VIZIO and its SmartCast operating system in December helped to drive its ad sales higher by 53%.

All told, Walmart's adjusted operating income increased 8% to $7.2 billion. The big-box retailer's adjusted earnings per share, in turn, improved by 6.9% to $0.62. That bested Wall Street's estimates, which had called for per-share profits of $0.60.

Walmart sees more gains ahead

These encouraging results prompted Walmart to lift its full-year sales and earnings guidance. Management now expects:

• Net sales to rise 4.8% to 5.1%, up from a prior forecast of 3.75% to 4.75%
• Adjusted operating income to increase 4.8% to 5.5%, up from 3.5% to 5.5%
• Adjusted earnings per share of $2.58 to $2.63, up from $2.52 to $2.62

Walmart also announced its intentions to move its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq Stock Market. The change will take place on Dec. 9. Its stock ticker symbol will remain "WMT."

"Moving to Nasdaq aligns with the people-led, tech-powered approach to our long-term strategy," CFO John David Rainey said.

Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Intercontinental Exchange and Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.