Walmart stock reached a record high during premarket trading on Tuesday. That came as the company reported strong fourth-quarter earnings and announced an agreement to buy the TV maker Vizio.
Shares in the retail giant rose 3% early Tuesday morning reaching, $176.24, beating the previous all-time high of $171.93 last week.
Walmart announced Tuesday morning that it is acquiring Vizio for $11.50 per share in a deal worth about $2.3 billion. Vizio stock jumped 15% following the news, to $10.98 per share.
“There is a lot to be excited about with this acquisition,” Walmart’s U.S. executive vice president and chief revenue officer Seth Dallaire said in a statement.
Walmart said the deal would enable it to to serve customers in new ways, including “innovative television and in-home entertainment and media experiences.” The acquisition would also create new opportunities for advertisers.
Walmart’s fourth quarter, by the numbers
Walmart also announced a strong fourth quarter that outperformed Wall Street expectations.
The company’s net profit fell 12% to $5.5 billion in the three months ending Jan. 31, from $6.2 billion in the same period the prior year.
But Walmart’s net sales were up 5.7% year-over-year to $173 billion in its fourth quarter, from $164 billion. Sales in U.S. Walmart stores alone were up 3.4% to $117 billion. Walmart’s membership warehouse chain Sam’s Club saw its sales rise 2% to almost $22 billion.
Walmart’s earnings per share came to $1.80, outperforming Wall Street expectations of $1.64, according to a consensus estimate from analysts surveyed by Factset.
The company also increased its annual stock dividend by 9%, its largest in over a decade. Walmart’s chief financial officer John David Rainey called the increase “a sign of our confidence in our growth potential and cash flow.”
For its first quarter in fiscal year 2025, the company projects its sales will increase between 4% to 5%.