Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. reported an 11.7% increase in sales for the month of March to $34.26 billion from $30.68 billion during the year-ago period. Comparable store sales for the month 4.0% on top of a 2.1% gain last year.
More detailed results included (dollars in
billions):

                         5 Weeks Ended                 9 Weeks Ended
                                       Percent                        Percent
                 4-6-2007  4-7-2006    Change   4-6-2007  4-7-2006     Change
    Wal-Mart
     Stores       $22.116   $20.170       9.6 %  $39.689   $36.808      7.8 %
    Sam's Club      4.156     3.816       8.9 %    7.315     6.848      6.8 %
    International   7.983     6.689      19.3 %   14.045    11.796     19.1 %
      Total
       Company    $34.255   $30.675      11.7 %  $61.049   $55.452     10.1 %

Comparable sales for the periods ending Apr. 6, 2007, and Apr. 7, 2006,
were as follows:

                        5 Weeks Ended                 9 Weeks Ended
                    4-6-2007      4-7-2006       4-6-2007      4-7-2006
    Wal-Mart
     Stores          3.4 %          1.6 %          2.1 %         2.5 %
    Sam's Club       7.4 %          4.8 %          5.7 %         4.7 %
    Total U.S.       4.0 %          2.1 %          2.6 %         2.8 %


Wal-Mart Stores Division

For the March five-week period, grocery sales at Wal-Mart Stores were strong, particularly in food and dry grocery. Produce, dairy and bakery did well. The prescription side of pharmacy had comparable store sales in the mid teens, as consumers continue to respond to the company's $4 generic program. Consumer purchases also were strong in toys and lawn and garden.

While overall home and apparel are soft, sales improved in girls' wear and spring seasonal apparel as the temperatures warmed.

Comparable store sales for March were driven by the strength in average ticket. Customer transactions in the Company's comparable stores showed improvement from the prior month's results.


Sam's Club

Sam's Club strengths for the March reporting period included food, consumables and electronics. Seasonal categories also did well, due to the warmer weather and the positive reception to the Sam's Club spring catalog, which was available to members the last week of March. Business member traffic continued to be up, with positive results in key business categories.


Guidance

The company expects comparable sales in the U.S. for the April four-week reporting period to be flat to down 2 percent, due to the Easter calendar shift and April 2006 being our strongest monthly comparable store sales increase last year at 5.0%, said Tom Schoewe, executive vice president and chief financial officer. Sales for the March/April nine-week reporting period combined are estimated to be between 1% and 2%. The comparable sales increase for the related nine-week period of March/April last year was 3.4%.

“Earnings per share from continuing operations for the first quarter of fiscal year 2008 were estimated to be $0.68 to $0.71,” said Schoewe. “While the earnings guidance is still attainable, given the tough sales environment for the April period, it will be a challenge.”


Detail on Comparable Sales Fuel Impact

Comparable sales that are presented in this release exclude the impact of fuel sales in the company's Sam's Club segment. Fuel sales impacted the Sam's Club and total U.S. comparable sales figures for the five-week period ending Apr. 6, 2007, by -0.6 and zero percentage points, respectively, and impacted the nine-week period by -0.5 and zero percentage points, respectively. Including the impact of fuel sales, the Sam's Club and total U.S. comparable sales figures for the five-week period ending Apr. 6, 2007, would have been 6.8% and 4.0%, respectively, and for the nine-week period would have been 5.2% and 2.6%, respectively.