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Walmart Earnings on Tuesday: Should give indication on how consumer spedning has been and will be. This will not effect just Walmart but the retail sector as a whole...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Earnings-Preview-WalMart-apf-934013857.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode=

Earnings Preview: Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Wal-Mart's 1st quarter earnings results to offer clues on consumer, business

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, reports its first-quarter results Tuesday before the market opens.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: How gas prices are affecting Wal-Mart shoppers and whether the company is seeing any improvement in a key revenue indicator.

Analysts expect the company to report that revenue in its U.S. stores open at least a year fell 1 percent compared with a year earlier, including a 1.1 percent drop at Walmart stores and a 3 percent increase at Sam's Clubs, according to FactSet. That comparison is an important indicator of a retailer's financial health because it excludes revenue from stores that recently opened or closed.

This would be the eighth quarter in a row that the indicator fell in the U.S. for Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart said in February that it expected the comparison to be anywhere from flat to down 2 percent for Walmart stores in the U.S., where sales are hurting because of mistakes the company made on price and selection. Wal-Mart also faces increasing price competition from dollar chains, Amazon.com and other online retailers.

Company officials have said they can't predict when the trend will reverse.

Wal-Mart is trying several means to revive its U.S. growth, bring back disaffected customers and draw new ones. It is restoring thousands of items it had stopped carrying in an overzealous bid to streamline its stores, from fishing supplies in Dallas to snow blowers in Minneapolis. The company is highlighting the returning items with flags on store shelves trumpeting "It's Back."

Wal-Mart also is hammering its return to the "Every Day Low Price" message of founder Sam Walton with a new ad campaign. And it plans to open hundreds of smaller stores store under a concept it calls Walmart Express. Analysts will want to know more about how it is spreading the prototype. Wal-Mart officials said in March that they are considering acquiring retailers with small locations.

Wal-Mart's international business, which produces 26 percent of company revenue, has remained strong, and the company expects growth in emerging markets to accelerate. Late last year, Wal-Mart purchased a controlling stake in South Africa's Massmart. On Friday, it said it was buying a minority stake in Chinese online company Yihaodian as it looks to tap into growing online sales in China. Yihaodian sells groceries, consumer electronics, clothing and other items.

WHY IT MATTERS: Results from Wal-Mart come as close as any retailer's can to being an economic indicator because consumer spending, including major items like health care, accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, and Wal-Mart is the largest U.S. retailer by far. How quickly goods fly off the shelf at Wal-Mart provides a compelling checkup on the nation's economic health.

WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts expect net income of 95 cents per share on revenue of $102.85 billion, excluding Sam's Club membership fees, according to FactSet.

LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Wal-Mart earned 88 cents per share on revenue of $99.85 billion, including Sam's club membership fees.