Retail Stocks Climb Amid Flood of Good News

Americans are still shopping, and Walmart’s strong quarterly results suggest they’re increasingly frequenting value-oriented retailers, boosting the industry’s stocks on Thursday. 

Walmart on Thursday raised its full-year revenue and earnings forecast, citing “a generally stable consumer,” after reporting a 5% increase in second-quarter sales. 

The discount retailer has grown its customer base in recent years, attracting higher-income shoppers who’ve become increasingly cost-conscious after years of elevated inflation and economic uncertainty. Its strong earnings report and financial outlook suggested that the trend is far from ending. 

Walmart’s report sent its shares up more than 6% to a record high, while boosting optimism among discounter investors on Thursday. Shares of competitor Target (TGT) climbed more 4% in morning trading, as did shares of Dollar Tree (DLTR), while Ross Stores (ROST) rose more than 3%. 

Retail Sales Lift the Lot

Though Walmart’s numbers weren’t the only piece of good news retailers got on Thursday. U.S. retail sales jumped 1% in July, according to data released by the Commerce Department. That figure was far ahead of the 0.3% increase economists were expecting. 

The data gave a boost to discount and non-discount retailers alike, with stocks like lululemon athletica (LULU), Etsy (ETSY), and Best Buy (BBY) trading sharply higher on Thursday.

The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) jumped more than 4% and likely would have risen even more if it was a capitalization-weighted fund.

With a market cap of nearly $600 billion, Walmart is worth $200 billion more than America’s next-most valuable retailer, Costco (COST), yet they each account for about 1.4% of the index. Costco gained 1% on Thursday, while Amazon.com (AMZN), the largest company in XRT, rose about 4%.