EARNINGS PREVIEW: Wal-Mart Brings Big Week Of Retail Data To A Head

(RTTNews) - This has been a big week for the retailing sector.

Target announced better-than-expected results before the opening bell on Wednesday. Meanwhile, earlier in the week, the government said retail sales rose 0.6 percent in July, adding to the advance in June and beating economists' projections.

Despite these noteworthy items, perhaps the biggest data set in this week's retailing calendar is due out on Thursday. Wal-Mart (WMT), the world's largest retailer, is set to announce its quarterly results.

Analysts are projecting that the company's profit will hold relatively steady with last year. Earnings per share are expected to come in at $1.07 for the July quarter.

Meanwhile, Revenue is projected to edge up by a little under 2 percent. The top line is seen rising to $122.8 billion.

Wal-Mart has had a pretty good run of earnings reports lately. The retailer's stock has rallied in response to its earnings report in five out of the last seven quarters. This includes four out of the last five.

The last two earnings reports each prompted stock rallies of at least 3 percent.

Last time around, Wal-Mart reported earnings that beat expectations. It also predicted higher comparable store sales for the coming quarter. Comparable store sales are an important retailing metric that excludes the impact of new store openings.

Revenue in the last earnings report was up about 1.4 percent, rising to about $117.5 billion.

In June, company announced the acquisition of Bonobos, an apparel brand focused on Internet distribution. The purchase price was $310 million. Wal-Mart plans to offer the product on its Jet.com website and on other web platforms.

This is part of Wal-Mart's ongoing strategy to ramp up its online presence in order to take on Amazon.