Stock Spotlight: Inflation takes a bite out of Walmart profits

Full-year profits to decline 11% to 13%

Overstocking and rising inflation have eaten into Walmart's profit margins, the multinational retail giant revealed in its quarterly report issued at the end of July.

The firm, which is often seen as a bellwether for the retail sector, forecast that full-year profits would decline by between 11% to 13%, down from the 1% fall previously predicted. Sam North, trading school lead at eToro, said: "Walmart may be the world's largest retailer, but sadly for its shareholders, that does not make it immune to the same inflationary and pricing headache that retailers around the world are grappling with. In fact, it may be coming off worse than other retailers, precisely because of its scale." The Walton family, which owns just under 50% of Walmart stock, los...