Wal-Mart Reports First Drop In Profits

There wasn’t any party in Bentonville, Ark., Tuesday to celebrate Wal-Mart’s 100th consecutive rise in quarterly earnings, as the company had planned.

That’s because Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation’s biggest retailer, had finally struck out. The company reported the first drop in quarterly profits since it went public in 1970.

Wal-Mart had signaled in January that the party might be off, saying its fourth-quarter results would be hurt by sluggish Christmas sales, higher operating costs and the heavy snowstorms in the Northeast.

Wal-Mart said Tuesday that its earnings dropped to $942 million despite a 13 percent rise in quarterly sales to $27.55 billion. For the year, Wal-Mart said, earnings were up 2 percent, to $2.74 billion.