1 Shocking Number That Could Spell Trouble for Walmart Stock
The holiday shopping season is key for retailers since it can often make or break a company's year. And 2022 could be an especially challenging one for many businesses, because inflation and supply chain issues have put added pressure on retail companies.
Big-box chain Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has largely weathered the storm thus far in 2022. Its shares have fallen 9% year to date, which is more modest than the S&P 500's 23% drop. However, that could change. The retail company may have dropped a big hint, suggesting that it may not think demand will be all that strong this holiday season.
Walmart is hiring far fewer seasonal workers
In September, Walmart announced it was hiring 40,000 seasonal workers to help with the upcoming holiday season. That's in stark contrast to the more than 150,000 workers it added a year ago. The company did say it will give its part-time workers the ability to pick up more shifts, but this is still a sizable drop in workers.
This can be problematic for the retailer as Walmart's inventory levels are still around record levels. Even with the discounts that will likely come as a result of trying to move all that inventory, Walmart still doesn't see a need for a larger pool of temporary seasonal workers, which should serve as a big red flag to investors.
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