...September 19, 2019 NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Sept. 19, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its '##' issue-level rating to Bentonville, Ark.-based big box discounter Walmart Inc.'s proposed senior unsecured notes. The potential $1 billion issuance is leverage neutral and will keep lease-adjusted debt-to-EBITDA at the high-1x level for the next 12 months, which is in line with our expectations. The company continues to demonstrate strong profitability trends and we project comparable sales growth at Walmart U.S. of 2.5% to 3% (excluding fuel) for full-year 2020. Flipkart will continue to have a negative impact on profits this year, but separately the company is mitigating U.S. tariff pressures through its diversified merchandise assortment. That said, Walmart sources a third of its products outside the U.S., including China, and has acknowledged broader impact from List 4. We expect it will have to partially offset the products that it cannot re-source or re-merchandise by passing...
