Wal-Mart on Thursday reported that its annual profits failed to grow. And failed by a lot.
Full-year net income tumbled to $16 billion, down by nearly $1 billion from the previous year.
That tells you a great deal about how hard the economy has been on the lower-income shoppers who make up Wal-Mart's core customer base, according to Charles Fishman, author of The Wal-Mart Effect.
"This clearly reflects the economic constraints on people who shop at Wal-Mart" Fishman said.
The holiday season was especially disappointing. For the three-month period that ended Jan. 31, U.S. same-store sales fell 0.4 percent. Wal-Mart had been predicting flat sales — not a decline. Overall, net profit for the final quarter fell to $4.43 billion, down from $5.61 billion in the same period a year ago.
Wal-Mart same-store sales continued to slide during the first half February, amid harsh winter weather.
The company says its customers are being hurt by cuts in government benefits, higher taxes, tighter credit and rising health-care costs.
The disappointing sales may help explain why Wal-Mart is not fighting Democrats' push to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 by 2016.
"We have not taken a position," Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said in a phone interview. "We remain neutral."
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