A year ago, it seemed like Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) might end up just another victim of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s e-commerce dominance.
However, as WMT’s second-quarter earnings report revealed, Walmart may not have to beat AMZN to thrive.
Second Place Good Enough For WMT
While there’s no denying the secular retail shift to e-commerce, AMZN isn’t necessarily the grim reaper for all traditional retailers. Walmart seems to be a perfect example.
Other retailers like Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), Macy’s Inc(NYSE:M) and Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) are clearly struggling to figure out how to compete with AMZN. However, WMT just delivered positive overall sales growth, 3% U.S. sales growth, 1.6% same-store sales growth and 12% EPS growth. That is certainly not the kind of quarter you’d expect from a dying company.
WMT stock is also trading near its 52-week high.
Let’s be clear — Walmart is not beating Amazon. But that’s OK.
“No one catches Amazon online,” Moody’s analyst Charlie O’Shea says. “The key is to be No. 2.”
WMT’s online sales growth numbers were nowhere near AMZN’s numbers, but WMT still reported 11.8% digital sales growth in Q2.
WMT Turning The Corner?
One of the most difficult things for investors to identify is…
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