...NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Aug. 18, 2016--S&P Global Ratings today said Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s reported results for the three months ended July 31, 2016 (second quarter 2017) were slightly ahead of our expectations, including a 1.6% increase in comparable-store sales for Wal-Mart U.S. This marked the seventh consecutive quarter of positive traffic (up 1.2%), with average ticket up 0.4%. Our ratings on Wal-Mart (##/Stable/A-1+) are not affected In our view, the recent acquisition of Jet.com offers Wal-Mart an opportunity to continue accelerating its e-commerce sales, given that business grew 11.8% in the latest quarter compared with 16% a year ago. While the company expects operating losses and one-time transaction expenses related to the planned Jet.com deal to reduce earnings per share modestly for fiscal 2017, we believe there are opportunities to offset this with continued cost-cutting and working capital discipline. Even year to date, significant improvements in inventory management...
