Bulletin: Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Lowered Earnings Guidance And Revised Capital Allocation Has No Impact On Ratings

NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 14, 2015--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services noted today that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. lowered its earning guidance for 2016 (fiscal 2017) and revised its three year plan on capital allocation, including a new $20 billion share repurchase authorization to be completed over the next two years, a steady dividend increase, and reduced capital spending to $11 billion because of more moderate store growth plans. We anticipate flat sales from currency headwinds and increased costs from investments in labor and e-commerce efforts to pressure profitability in the coming year. However, we expect Wal-Mart to continue generating strong levels of cash flow and maintain its credit metrics in line with the current rating, with total debt to

...NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Oct. 14, 2015--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services noted today that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. lowered its earning guidance for 2016 (fiscal 2017) and revised its three year plan on capital allocation, including a new $20 billion share repurchase authorization to be completed over the next two years, a steady dividend increase, and reduced capital spending to $11 billion because of more moderate store growth plans. We anticipate flat sales from currency headwinds and increased costs from investments in labor and e-commerce efforts to pressure profitability in the coming year. However, we expect Wal-Mart to continue generating strong levels of cash flow and maintain its credit metrics in line with the current rating, with total debt to EBITDA in the mid- to high-1.0x range. Our ratings on Wal-Mart (##/Stable/A-1+) are not affected by these announcements. We have determined, based solely on the developments described herein, that no rating actions are currently warranted....

Bulletin