Walmart Inc. stock research
FY2024 Q4
Walmart (WMT) Gross Margin — Quarter Ended Jan 31, 2024
Revenue and gross profit both increased compared to the previous quarter and the same quarter last year. Gross margin weakened sequentially but improved year-over-year, as cost of revenue grew at a faster rate than revenue in the sequential comparison and at a slower rate in the year-over-year comparison.
Gross margin takeaway
Quarter ended Jan 31, 2024 · FY2024 Q4
Revenue and gross profit both increased compared to the previous quarter and the same quarter last year. Gross margin weakened sequentially but improved year-over-year, as cost of revenue grew at a faster rate than revenue in the sequential comparison and at a slower rate in the year-over-year comparison.
- The strongest observable margin driver is the relative growth of cost of revenue compared to revenue. The sequential decline in gross margin reflects a proportionally larger increase in cost of revenue, while the year-over-year improvement reflects a proportionally smaller increase.
- Compared to the prior quarter, gross margin was lower as cost of revenue increased at a higher rate than revenue. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, gross margin was higher as cost of revenue increased at a lower rate than revenue.
Gross margin snapshot
The selected quarter's reported revenue, gross profit, direct costs, and margin comparisons.
Gross margin
23.3%
Gross profit
$40.1B
Revenue
$171.9B
Cost of revenue
$131.8B
Quarter-over-quarter change
-0.7 pts
Year-over-year change
+0.4 pts
Quarterly gross margin trend
A four-quarter view of the revenue and direct-cost bridge behind gross margin.
| Period | Revenue | Gross profit | Cost of revenue | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2023 | $151.0B | $35.7B | $115.3B | 23.7% |
| Jul 31, 2023 | $160.3B | $38.4B | $121.8B | 24.0% |
| Oct 31, 2023 | $159.4B | $38.3B | $121.2B | 24.0% |
| Jan 31, 2024 | $171.9B | $40.1B | $131.8B | 23.3% |
Quarterly comparisons
Compare the selected margin with the preceding quarter and the same fiscal quarter one year earlier.
Previous-quarter change
Oct 31, 2023
-0.7 pts
Year-over-year change
Jan 31, 2023
+0.4 pts
What the margin says
Filing-constrained interpretation of margin direction, comparisons, and what to monitor next.
The strongest observable margin driver is the relative growth of cost of revenue compared to revenue. The sequential decline in gross margin reflects a proportionally larger increase in cost of revenue, while the year-over-year improvement reflects a proportionally smaller increase.
Compared to the prior quarter, gross margin was lower as cost of revenue increased at a higher rate than revenue. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, gross margin was higher as cost of revenue increased at a lower rate than revenue.
Monitor the trend in cost of revenue relative to revenue to assess whether the year-over-year margin improvement can be sustained.