Consumer is 'hanging in there' despite uncertainty: Walmart CFO

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Shares of Walmart (WMT) are on the rise after the company posted its second quarter earnings, beating expectations on both the top and bottom lines. The retail giant raised its full-year sales and profit guidance after seeing strength in the consumer.

Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey joins Morning Brief alongside Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi to give insight into the company's latest earnings report, what he sees from the consumer landscape, and more.

Overall, Rainey says the consumer has remained consistent and is "hanging in there" despite uncertainty surrounding the election and geopolitical events. He also notes they are focusing more on essentials and less on discretionary items.

In terms of what he sees from the consumer within Walmart's data, Rainey comments: "We know that they're looking for value and that their dollars are stretched. And so they're focusing on those things that are providing value for them. They're being choiceful when they buy the larger ticket items."

Rainey also comments on the international part of the business and the growth he's seen there: "What's changed there that I think is different from maybe a decade ago is we really like our footprint. We've focused our strategy. All the markets that we have are contributing to this growth. There's a lot of focus on China, there's a lot of focus on India. These tend to be faster, growing more e-commerce, focused parts of our business."

Rainey argues that the results show that Walmart "is positioned to do well during tougher times, maybe more recessionary times. We're also doing very well in more expansionary times too."

Watch the video above to hear what Rainey says about higher-income consumers shopping at the retail giant.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief.

This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

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