As the Q3 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the large-format grocery & general merchandise retailer industry, including Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and its peers.

Big-box retailers operate large stores that sell groceries and general merchandise at highly competitive prices. Because of their scale and resulting purchasing power, these big-box retailers–with annual sales in the tens to hundreds of billions of dollars–are able to get attractive volume discounts and sell at often the lowest prices. While e-commerce is a threat, these retailers have been able to weather the storm by either providing a unique in-store shopping experience or by reinvesting their hefty profits into omnichannel investments.

The 4 large-format grocery & general merchandise retailer stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 3.2% on average since the latest earnings results.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT)

Known for its large-format Supercenters, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is a retail pioneer that serves a budget-conscious consumer who is looking for a wide range of products under one roof.

Walmart reported revenues of $169.6 billion, up 5.5% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ gross margin estimates and a decent beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Walmart achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 6.6% since reporting and currently trades at $89.68.

Is now the time to buy Walmart? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q3: BJ's (NYSE:BJ)

Appealing to the budget-conscious individual shopping for a household, BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) is a membership-only retail chain that sells groceries, appliances, electronics, and household items, often in bulk quantities.

BJ's reported revenues of $5.10 billion, up 3.5% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. The business had a strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA and EPS estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 13.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $97.57.

Is now the time to buy BJ's? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q3: Target (NYSE:TGT)

With a higher focus on style and aesthetics compared to other large general merchandise retailers, Target (NYSE:TGT) serves the suburban consumer who is looking for a wide range of products under one roof.

Target reported revenues of $25.67 billion, up 1.1% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. It was a softer quarter as it posted full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations.

Target delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 16.9% since the results and currently trades at $129.70.

Read our full analysis of Target’s results here.

Costco (NASDAQ:COST)

Designed to be a one-stop shop for the suburban consumer, Costco (NASDAQ:COST) is a membership-only retail chain that sells groceries, apparel, toys, and household items, often in bulk quantities.

Costco reported revenues of $79.7 billion, flat year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ gross margin estimates and a decent beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Costco had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 6.4% since reporting and currently trades at $959.74.

Read our full, actionable report on Costco here, it’s free.

Market Update

As a result of the Fed's rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed's 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump's victory in the US Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain. Said differently, there's still much uncertainty around 2025.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Strong Momentum Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

Join Paid Stock Investor Research

Help us make StockStory more helpful to investors like yourself. Join our paid user research session and receive a $50 Amazon gift card for your opinions. Sign up here.