沃爾瑪 (WMT) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to Walmart's Fiscal Year '22 Third Quarter Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this conference is being recorded.

你好。歡迎參加沃爾瑪 22 財年第三季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。

At this time, I'll now turn the conference over to Dan Binder, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Dan, you may now begin.

現在，我將把會議交給投資者關係高級副總裁 Dan Binder。丹，你現在可以開始了。

Thank you, Rob. Good morning, and welcome to Walmart's Third Quarter Fiscal 2022 Earnings Call. I'm joined by members of our executive team, including Doug McMillon, Walmart's President and CEO; Brett Biggs, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; John Furner, President and CEO of Walmart U.S.; Judith McKenna, President and CEO of Walmart International; and Kath McLay, President and CEO of Sam's Club. In a few moments, Doug and Brett will provide an update on the business and discuss third quarter results. That will be followed by our question-and-answer session.

謝謝你，羅布。早上好，歡迎參加沃爾瑪 2022 財年第三季度財報電話會議。我們的執行團隊成員也加入了我的行列，其中包括沃爾瑪總裁兼首席執行官 Doug McMillon； Brett Biggs，執行副總裁兼首席財務官；沃爾瑪美國總裁兼首席執行官約翰弗納；沃爾瑪國際總裁兼首席執行官朱迪思·麥肯納（Judith McKenna）；和山姆會員店總裁兼首席執行官凱思·麥克萊 (Kath McLay)。稍後，Doug 和 Brett 將提供業務更新並討論第三季度業績。接下來是我們的問答環節。

Before I turn the call over to Doug, let me remind you that today's call is being recorded and will include forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors identified in our filings with the SEC. Please review our press release and accompanying slide presentation for a cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements as well as our entire safe harbor statement and non-GAAP reconciliations on our website at stock.walmart.com.

在我將電話轉給道格之前，讓我提醒您，今天的電話正在錄音中，並將包括前瞻性陳述。這些陳述受到可能導致實際結果與這些陳述產生重大差異的風險和不確定性的影響。這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於我們在提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中確定的因素。請在我們的網站 stock.walmart.com 上查看我們的新聞稿和隨附的幻燈片演示，以獲取有關前瞻性聲明以及我們的整個安全港聲明和非 GAAP 對賬的警告聲明。

It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Doug McMillon.

現在我很高興將電話轉給 Doug McMillon。

Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining us. We continued to have momentum. Sales were strong throughout the third quarter, and we've seen a good start to the fourth quarter, thanks to all the thoughtful planning and hard work from our associates.

大家好，感謝您加入我們。我們繼續保持勢頭。整個第三季度的銷售都很強勁，我們看到了第四季度的良好開端，這要歸功於我們員工的周到計劃和辛勤工作。

In addition to visiting stores and Sam's Clubs in the U.S. this quarter, I also got to visit stores with the Canadian leadership team in the Toronto market. It was a reminder that our associates around the world have served others throughout this pandemic with courage and resilience.

除了本季度參觀美國的商店和山姆會員店外，我還與加拿大領導團隊一起參觀了多倫多市場的商店。這提醒我們，我們在世界各地的員工在整個大流行期間以勇氣和韌性為他人服務。

Our Canadian stores had some great items for Diwali. We sold through Halloween well, and the seasonal areas were ready for Christmas. In the U.S., we're ready for the holidays, too. There's a level of excitement in the air. You can feel it. I've been walking away from these stores with the recurring thought, we're ready. We have the people, the products and the prices to deliver a great holiday season.

我們的加拿大商店有一些很棒的排燈節商品。我們在萬聖節期間賣得很好，季節性地區已經為聖誕節做好了準備。在美國，我們也為假期做好了準備。空氣中有某種程度的興奮。你能感覺到。我一直帶著反复的想法離開這些商店，我們準備好了。我們有人員、產品和價格來提供一個美好的假期。

Around the world, so many families depend on us for food, apparel, home items, TVs, and seasonal items like toys and Christmas trees. They trust us to have what they're looking for and at the right price. And while this year has its challenges, we're in position to serve them.

在世界各地，有很多家庭依靠我們提供食物、服裝、家居用品、電視以及玩具和聖誕樹等季節性物品。他們相信我們能夠以合適的價格提供他們想要的東西。雖然今年有挑戰，但我們有能力為他們服務。

All segments saw strong top line gains in the quarter, excluding divestitures, and I could not be prouder of our team. They continue to solve problems and move with speed.

除資產剝離外，所有部門在本季度都實現了強勁的收入增長，我為我們的團隊感到無比自豪。他們繼續解決問題並迅速行動。

Walmart U.S. drove a sequential acceleration in comp sales, both on a 1- and 2-year basis, and continued to gain market share in grocery. Sam's Club had another very strong quarter, as did Walmart International, with China, Mexico and India leading the way.

沃爾瑪美國公司在 1 年和 2 年的基礎上推動了商品銷售的連續加速，並繼續在雜貨市場獲得市場份額。 Sam's Club 還有一個非常強勁的季度，沃爾瑪國際也是如此，其中中國、墨西哥和印度處於領先地位。

Customers and members are shopping with us across channels, and we're making it easier for them. Speed matters. That's why we offer fast, same-day delivery to millions of customers around the world.

客戶和會員通過各種渠道與我們一起購物，我們正在為他們提供更輕鬆的體驗。速度很重要。這就是為什麼我們為全球數百萬客戶提供快速的當日送達服務。

Walmart has served customers across economic cycles for more than 50 years. Each one is unique, and they require us to adapt. In this latest cycle, the pandemic caused shifts in how customers and members shopped and what they purchased. The long period of sustained demand for goods has stretched supply chains, resulting in out of stocks and inflation.

50 多年來，沃爾瑪一直為跨越經濟周期的客戶提供服務。每一個都是獨一無二的，它們需要我們去適應。在這個最新的周期中，大流行導致客戶和會員的購物方式以及他們購買的東西發生了變化。對商品的長期持續需求拉長了供應鏈，導致庫存不足和通貨膨脹。

Fighting inflation is in our DNA. Sam Walton loved that fight, and so do we. I want to thank our truck drivers, merchants, replenishment teams, our associates that move inventory through the supply chain, and our suppliers. They're working together creatively and quickly. We have lots of variables to manage to deliver everyday low prices to customers and simultaneously strong financial results for our shareholders, and we're using them.

對抗通貨膨脹是我們的 DNA。山姆沃爾頓喜歡這場戰鬥，我們也喜歡。我要感謝我們的卡車司機、商家、補貨團隊、通過供應鏈轉移庫存的員工以及我們的供應商。他們正在創造性地、快速地合作。我們有很多變數要設法為客戶提供每日低價，同時為我們的股東提供強勁的財務業績，我們正在使用它們。

We continue to make progress on our strategy. The team is moving fast and being aggressive as we build the pieces of our flywheel. In the U.S., Walmart GoLocal for last-mile delivery is an example. We're excited to have The Home Depot join Walmart and Sam's Club to share our white label delivery as a service platform. This service is powered by our proprietary driver platform, Spark Driver. The technology behind it is now available in Mexico as we learn to build more digital products that can be leveraged globally.

我們繼續在我們的戰略上取得進展。在我們製造飛輪部件的過程中，團隊正在快速行動並積極進取。在美國，最後一英里配送的沃爾瑪 GoLocal 就是一個例子。我們很高興家得寶加入沃爾瑪和山姆會員店，分享我們的白標配送服務平台。該服務由我們專有的驅動程序平台 Spark Driver 提供支持。隨著我們學習構建更多可以在全球範圍內使用的數字產品，它背後的技術現在可以在墨西哥使用。

Spark continues to grow and is now active in 900 U.S. cities, providing access to more than 50% of U.S. households. And we're just getting started. We recently enabled a new feature within the Spark Driver app called Shopping and Delivery, which gives service providers the option to shop and deliver customers' orders. So if delivery slots are full at a location, this feature allows us to serve that demand. The Spark platform has a lot of potential in the U.S. and beyond.

Spark 繼續發展壯大，目前活躍在美國 900 個城市，為超過 50% 的美國家庭提供接入服務。我們才剛剛開始。我們最近在 Spark Driver 應用程序中啟用了一項名為 Shopping and Delivery 的新功能，它使服務提供商可以選擇購物和交付客戶的訂單。因此，如果某個位置的交貨位置已滿，則此功能使我們能夠滿足該需求。 Spark 平台在美國及其他地區具有很大的潛力。

Selling advertising is another important piece of the flywheel because it helps suppliers and marketplace providers sell more while creating a new profit opportunity for us. Globally, we continue to see rapid growth in advertising income, led by the U.S., Flipkart and Mexico. We're also making good progress at PhonePe, and we're starting to ramp in Canada and Chile.

銷售廣告是飛輪的另一個重要組成部分，因為它可以幫助供應商和市場提供商銷售更多，同時為我們創造新的盈利機會。在全球範圍內，我們繼續看到以美國、Flipkart 和墨西哥為首的廣告收入快速增長。我們在 PhonePe 也取得了良好的進展，我們開始在加拿大和智利進行推廣。

Beyond advertising income, we're creating new ways to gather and analyze data to fuel smarter, faster decision-making to better serve customers, members and suppliers. Earlier this quarter, we launched Walmart Luminate in the U.S., which is a new suite of data products created for our merchants and suppliers to reveal actionable category and item insight. Our sales team is getting started, and we're encouraged by the number of suppliers that have already signed up and their feedback.

除了廣告收入，我們正在創造新的方法來收集和分析數據，以推動更智能、更快的決策，從而更好地為客戶、會員和供應商服務。本季度早些時候，我們在美國推出了 Walmart Luminate，這是為我們的商家和供應商創建的一套新的數據產品，用於揭示可操作的類別和商品洞察力。我們的銷售團隊正在起步，我們對已經簽約的供應商數量及其反饋感到鼓舞。

Our work to become a regenerative company continues. We had an offsite recently with over 50 of our leaders from several countries to imagine what more we can do and how we can pick up speed. Environmental, social and governance issues are important to us, and we're committed to continuing our leadership.

我們繼續努力成為一家再生公司。最近，我們與來自多個國家/地區的 50 多名領導人進行了一次異地活動，以想像我們還能做些什麼以及如何加快速度。環境、社會和治理問題對我們很重要，我們致力於繼續保持我們的領導地位。

In September, we issued our first ever green bond at $2 billion. It is one of the largest yet from a U.S.-based company. Proceeds are to be used to fund projects like renewable energy, high-performance buildings and 0 waste. While we've been investing in environmental sustainability projects for years, the size and design of this bond is aligned with the bold commitments we've more recently made.

9 月，我們發行了首筆 20 億美元的綠色債券。它是迄今為止最大的美國公司之一。所得款項將用於資助可再生能源、高性能建築和零廢物等項目。雖然我們多年來一直在投資環境可持續性項目，但這種債券的規模和設計與我們最近做出的大膽承諾相一致。

We hosted our sustainability milestone meeting in October. Many of our suppliers, NGO partners and associates attended. We shared a new goal at the meeting to achieve a 15% absolute reduction of our virgin plastic footprint by 2025. We think this goal and others announced at the meeting will move our business in a direction that is good for the planet and good for business by giving our customers the things they love without things they don't.

我們在 10 月舉辦了可持續發展里程碑會議。我們的許多供應商、非政府組織合作夥伴和同事參加了會議。我們在會議上分享了一個新目標，即到 2025 年將我們的原生塑料足跡絕對減少 15%。我們認為這個目標和會議上宣布的其他目標將使我們的業務朝著有利於地球和商業的方向發展通過為我們的客戶提供他們喜歡的東西，而不是他們不喜歡的東西。

Now let's move on to segment results. I'll begin with Walmart U.S. Comp sales of 9.2% or 15.6% on a 2-year stack is remarkable growth. The gains we've seen in market share for grocery and strong back-to-school results indicate our inventory position has improved. Prices and assortment are compelling, and customers continue to move away from early pandemic behaviors.

現在讓我們繼續細分結果。我將從沃爾瑪在美國的 Comp 銷售額 9.2% 或 15.6% 的 2 年堆棧開始，這是顯著的增長。我們看到雜貨市場份額的增長和強勁的返校業績表明我們的庫存狀況有所改善。價格和品種引人注目，客戶繼續遠離早期的流行病行為。

We see tailwinds in our results. A strong consumer, a degree of inflation and government stimulus are all factors, but I also like what I see in the core of the business. Transaction counts in our stores and clubs are growing. Inventory is up 11.5%. Our price gaps are where we want them. And we're innovating in the supply chain and adding capacity. And we're building businesses like Walmart GoLocal, Walmart Connect, Walmart Luminate, Walmart+, Spark Delivery, our Marketplace and Walmart Fulfillment Services.

我們在結果中看到了順風。強勁的消費者、一定程度的通貨膨脹和政府刺激都是因素，但我也喜歡我在業務核心中看到的東西。我們商店和俱樂部的交易數量正在增長。庫存增加 11.5%。我們的價格差距在我們想要的地方。我們正在創新供應鏈並增加產能。我們正在建立 Walmart GoLocal、Walmart Connect、Walmart Luminate、Walmart+、Spark Delivery、我們的 Marketplace 和 Walmart Fulfillment Services 等業務。

Financial services is another area where we know we can make a difference in the lives of so many. We recently launched bill payment services in our stores as well as the ability to load money to a bank account or a prepaid card.

金融服務是另一個我們知道我們可以改變許多人生活的領域。我們最近在我們的商店推出了賬單支付服務以及向銀行賬戶或預付卡充值的能力。

Moving to Sam's Club U.S. Comp sales were strong at 13.9%, excluding fuel. Membership is the lifeblood of the club model. Growth in membership income of 11.3% is the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Membership count reached a new record high during the quarter. And overall renewal rates were strong across the board, including first year renewals and those for Plus Members.

搬到山姆俱樂部的美國 Comp 銷售額強勁，達到 13.9%，不包括燃料。會員制是俱樂部模式的命脈。會員收入增長 11.3%，是連續第五個季度實現兩位數增長。本季度會員人數創歷史新高。總體續訂率很高，包括第一年續訂和 Plus 會員的續訂。

Both individual and business members are shopping with us across channels and using the digital tools we've developed. The new Don't Forget function with Scan & Go is a great example. It's a completely digital way for us to help members and drive basket size at the same time. Based on a member's shopping history, we can target items that a member may be forgetting in their trip all through the app.

個人和企業成員都在跨渠道與我們一起購物，並使用我們開發的數字工具。 Scan & Go 中新增的“勿忘”功能就是一個很好的例子。對於我們來說，這是一種完全數字化的方式，可以同時幫助會員和提高購物籃的規模。根據會員的購物歷史，我們可以通過應用程序定位會員在旅途中可能忘記的物品。

And we already see an increase in the number of items in the basket. We're also expanding delivery options at Sam's. We now offer same-day delivery for 440 clubs using our Spark Driver network.

我們已經看到購物籃中的商品數量有所增加。我們還在 Sam's 擴展送貨選項。我們現在使用我們的 Spark Driver 網絡為 440 家具樂部提供當日送達服務。

Turning to Walmart International. We had another quarter of strong growth with sales up 10.3% and profit up even higher at 17.5%, excluding divestitures and currency. We ended the quarter in great shape on inventory and price gaps. Back-to-school and other fall celebrations helped drive traffic for us as families began to get back to normal shopping patterns. The festive season is off to a strong start with Big Billion Days in India. We continue to see strong growth in eCommerce. On a 2-year stack, sales increased 91%, led by Flipkart and China.

轉向沃爾瑪國際。我們又實現了一個季度的強勁增長，銷售額增長了 10.3%，利潤增長甚至更高，達到 17.5%，不包括資產剝離和貨幣。由於庫存和價格差距，我們在本季度結束時表現良好。隨著家庭開始恢復正常的購物模式，返校和其他秋季慶祝活動為我們增加了流量。印度的 Big Billion Days 迎來了節日季的良好開端。我們繼續看到電子商務的強勁增長。在 2 年的堆棧中，銷售額增長了 91%，其中 Flipkart 和中國領先。

We've talked about the importance of omnichannel globally, and we continue to see the build-out of these models across markets. Our small Sam's Club depots that extend the reach of our large clubs in China helped deliver eCommerce growth of 96%, with incredibly fast delivery for everyday items. In Mexico, we continue to expand same-day delivery, and express delivery orders quickly reach customers using crowd sourcing capabilities. And in both Mexico and Canada, the expansion of omni capabilities is driven by technology that we've developed to share across markets, further leveraging our scale.

我們已經討論了全渠道在全球範圍內的重要性，並且我們繼續看到這些模型在各個市場中的擴展。我們的小型山姆會員店擴展了我們在中國的大型俱樂部的覆蓋範圍，幫助實現了 96% 的電子商務增長，並以令人難以置信的快速交付日常用品。在墨西哥，我們繼續擴大當日送達，快遞訂單利用眾包能力快速到達客戶手中。在墨西哥和加拿大，全方位能力的擴展是由我們為跨市場共享而開發的技術推動的，進一步利用了我們的規模。

Our international markets are building flywheels that have common characteristics with each other and with the U.S., which helps us innovate and leverage the technology we're building. Our store and club formats are well positioned. Our store and club formats are well positioned. We're moving quickly to add and expand more digital businesses, including eCommerce and payments to create new business models. We're innovating for our customers like the recent expansion of Flipkart SuperCoins across platforms.

我們的國際市場正在製造彼此之間以及與美國具有共同特徵的飛輪，這有助於我們創新並利用我們正在製造的技術。我們的商店和俱樂部形式定位良好。我們的商店和俱樂部形式定位良好。我們正在迅速採取行動，增加和擴展更多數字業務，包括電子商務和支付，以創建新的商業模式。我們正在為我們的客戶進行創新，例如最近跨平台擴展 Flipkart SuperCoins。

We're also making important investments for the future while delivering profitable growth today. You see examples of these investments in our supply chain in India and Mexico, new clubs in China and store remodels in Canada. The team is delivering on its purpose of driving long-term sustainable growth for the company.

我們還在為未來進行重要投資，同時實現今天的盈利增長。您可以在我們在印度和墨西哥的供應鏈、中國的新俱樂部和加拿大的商店改造中看到這些投資的例子。該團隊正在實現其推動公司長期可持續增長的目標。

With that, I'll close today by thanking our associates around the world for what they do each day to serve our customers and drive results. The holiday season is here, and we're ready. Our teams have been working hard to ensure we have the people, the products and the prices that will help make this season special for everyone.

至此，我將在今天結束時感謝我們在世界各地的員工每天為服務我們的客戶和推動成果所做的工作。假期到了，我們準備好了。我們的團隊一直在努力確保我們擁有能夠讓這個季節對每個人都特別的人、產品和價格。

I'll now hand it over to Brett.

我現在把它交給布雷特。

Thanks, Doug. In the third quarter, our momentum continued with strong sales and profit growth in each of our segments, while continuing to accelerate our strategic priorities. We're off to a good start for the holiday season and a good position to continue delivering strong results. Despite the various macro and industry challenges, our inventory position is good. Stores and fulfillment centers are well staffed, and our price position remains strong. Customers should expect to find the items they want at great values, and we are ready to serve them however they want to shop.

謝謝，道格。在第三季度，我們的勢頭繼續保持強勁，我們每個部門的銷售和利潤都實現了強勁增長，同時繼續加快我們的戰略重點。我們的假期有一個良好的開端，並且處於繼續取得強勁業績的良好位置。儘管存在各種宏觀和行業挑戰，但我們的庫存狀況良好。商店和履行中心的人員配備充足，我們的價格地位依然強勁。客戶應該期望以超值的價格找到他們想要的商品，我們隨時準備為他們提供任何他們想購物的服務。

Our omni model is a substantial competitive advantage as shopping behaviors continue to evolve. Customers want choices on how they shop. And our unique set of assets with a network of stores, expanding digital capabilities, robust distribution networks and innovative services very effectively serve their evolving needs.

隨著購物行為的不斷發展，我們的全能模式具有巨大的競爭優勢。客戶希望選擇他們的購物方式。我們獨特的資產組合包括商店網絡、不斷擴展的數字功能、強大的分銷網絡和創新服務，非常有效地滿足了他們不斷變化的需求。

Walmart U.S. comp sales grew 9.2%, including nearly 6% growth in transactions, with in-store shopping leading the way. eCommerce sales growth was up 8% in Q3 against strong sales gains last year, resulting in an 87% 2-year stack. We continue to see strong market share gains in grocery this year as well as unit share gains on a 2-year stack.

沃爾瑪美國公司的銷售額增長了 9.2%，其中交易量增長了近 6%，其中店內購物處於領先地位。與去年強勁的銷售增長相比，第三季度電子商務銷售額增長了 8%，導致 87% 的 2 年堆棧。我們繼續看到今年雜貨市場的強勁市場份額增長以及連續兩年的單位份額增長。

Sam's Club had another outstanding quarter, with comp sales growth, excluding fuel and tobacco, of 15.5%, including more than 10% growth in transactions and 32% growth in eCommerce. Membership counts had another record high and renewal rates remained strong.

Sam's Club 的另一個季度表現出色，不包括燃料和煙草的銷售增長 15.5%，其中交易增長超過 10%，電子商務增長 32%。會員人數再創歷史新高，續訂率保持強勁。

International results were impressive, including eCommerce penetration of around 19% as omni services scale across key markets. For example, Canada has expanded online grocery pickup from stores nationwide. While in Mexico, customers express delivery orders can be shipped via gig drivers in under 90 minutes from 120 stores.

國際業績令人印象深刻，包括電子商務滲透率約為 19%，因為全方位服務在主要市場上的規模擴大。例如，加拿大在全國范圍內擴大了網上雜貨店取貨的範圍。在墨西哥，客戶可以通過零工司機在 90 分鐘內從 120 家商店運送快遞訂單。

We continue to make good progress on accelerating the flywheel. We're seeing increased contributions from growth businesses, such as advertising, eCommerce marketplace and Spark last-mile delivery. Our delivery reach is expanding. And our scale enables us to monetize this capability by offering same-day services to other merchants through our Walmart GoLocal's B2B initiative.

我們在加速飛輪方面繼續取得良好進展。我們看到增長型業務的貢獻增加，例如廣告、電子商務市場和 Spark 最後一英里交付。我們的交付範圍正在擴大。我們的規模使我們能夠通過我們的 Walmart GoLocal 的 B2B 計劃向其他商家提供當日服務，從而通過這種能力獲利。

Now let's discuss Q3 results. As a reminder, the previously announced international divestitures significantly affect year-over-year comparisons. So my comments today will focus on the underlying business, excluding the affected divestitures. Also, COVID costs remain elevated globally, although lower than last year in most markets. In addition, EPS includes a $0.67 negative effect from premiums paid for bond tenders, which allowed us to retire higher rate debt to reduce interest expense in future periods.

現在讓我們討論第三季度的結果。提醒一下，之前宣布的國際資產剝離顯著影響了同比比較。因此，我今天的評論將集中在基礎業務上，不包括受影響的資產剝離。此外，儘管在大多數市場上低於去年，但全球 COVID 成本仍然很高。此外，每股收益包括為債券投標支付的保費帶來的 0.67 美元的負面影響，這使我們能夠償還更高利率的債務以減少未來期間的利息支出。

Total constant currency revenue grew more than 10% to over $139 billion. Walmart U.S. comp sales momentum remained strong, up 15.6% on a 2-year stack, due in part to strong U.S. consumer spending and some inflation. Strength in China, Mexico and India led to international sales growth of more than 10% in constant currency.

固定貨幣總收入增長超過 10%，超過 1390 億美元。沃爾瑪美國綜合銷售勢頭保持強勁，連續兩年增長 15.6%，部分原因是美國消費者支出強勁和一些通貨膨脹。中國、墨西哥和印度的實力導致按固定匯率計算的國際銷售額增長超過 10%。

Strong trends at Sam's Club continued with comp growth of nearly 31% on a 2-year stack, excluding fuel and tobacco. Currency benefited sales by about $1.3 billion. Gross margin rate declined 51 basis points, due primarily to increased supply chain costs and headwinds from fuel mix in the U.S. segments as well as format mix shifts in international. However, total gross margin dollars grew 9.6%.

山姆會員店的強勁趨勢繼續保持，在 2 年的堆棧中增長了近 31%，不包括燃料和煙草。貨幣使銷售額受益約 13 億美元。毛利率下降 51 個基點，主要是由於供應鏈成本增加、美國細分市場燃料組合的不利因素以及國際市場的格式組合轉變。然而，總毛利率增長了 9.6%。

SG&A expenses leveraged 13 basis points, reflecting strong sales and lower COVID costs, partially offset by increased wage investments in the U.S. As a result of these investments, we've seen a great response to our holiday hiring programs with the addition of over 200,000 new store and supply chain associates.

SG&A 費用增加了 13 個基點，反映了強勁的銷售和較低的 COVID 成本，部分被美國工資投資增加所抵消 由於這些投資，我們的假期招聘計劃得到了很好的回應，增加了超過 200,000 名新員工商店和供應鏈夥伴。

Operating income on a constant currency basis was up 6.3%, leading to adjusted EPS of $1.45. As anticipated, free cash flow for the year is about $8 billion lower than last year, primarily reflecting inventory increases and higher CapEx. We repurchased $2.2 billion of stock in Q3 and $7.4 billion year-to-date, up significantly from last year. I'm pleased with the improvements in ROI even as we've made strategic investments, with reported ROI increasing 80 basis points to 14.5%, which is among the best level in 4 years.

按固定匯率計算的營業收入增長 6.3%，調整後每股收益為 1.45 美元。正如預期的那樣，今年的自由現金流比去年減少了約 80 億美元，主要反映了庫存增加和資本支出增加。我們在第三季度回購了 22 億美元的股票，今年迄今回購了 74 億美元，比去年顯著增加。即使我們進行了戰略投資，我也對投資回報率的提高感到高興，報告的投資回報率增加了 80 個基點至 14.5%，這是 4 年來的最佳水平之一。

Now let's discuss the quarterly results for each segment. Walmart U.S. had another good quarter, aided by strong consumer spending, stemming in part from government stimulus and inflation. Strong sales trends were led by grocery, health and wellness, and apparel. Back-to-school categories also performed well, along with automotive and holiday decor.

現在讓我們討論每個細分市場的季度業績。得益於強勁的消費者支出，部分原因是政府的刺激措施和通脹，沃爾瑪美國公司的季度表現又不錯。雜貨、健康和保健以及服裝引領了強勁的銷售趨勢。返校類別以及汽車和假日裝飾也表現良好。

We're pleased with the strong momentum in the grocery business as our strong price positioning and omni offerings resonate with customers. Grocery sales were up nearly 10% as strong unit growth and low to mid-single-digit inflation benefited results. In fact, food sales grew $3.6 billion during Q3, which is the strongest quarterly growth in 6 quarters.

我們對雜貨業務的強勁勢頭感到高興，因為我們強大的價格定位和全方位產品與客戶產生共鳴。由於強勁的單位增長和中低個位數的通脹受益於業績，雜貨銷售增長了近 10%。事實上，第三季度食品銷售額增長了 36 億美元，這是 6 個季度以來最強勁的季度增長。

We're continuing to enhance and scale our strategic growth businesses. Both national and local partners have shown strong interest in our new Walmart GoLocal business, while the Spark Driver platform continues to expand nationally. Walmart Connect advertising sales have increased nearly 240% on a 2-year stack. And in Q3, we launched a new demand side platform in partnership with The Trade Desk to expand off-site media offerings.

我們將繼續加強和擴大我們的戰略增長業務。國家和地方合作夥伴都對我們新的 Walmart GoLocal 業務表現出濃厚的興趣，而 Spark Driver 平台繼續在全國范圍內擴展。 Walmart Connect 的廣告銷售額在兩年內增長了近 240%。在第三季度，我們與 The Trade Desk 合作推出了一個新的需求方平台，以擴展場外媒體產品。

We also added around 21 million items to our eCommerce marketplace assortment during the quarter, significantly increased the number of items available for expedited delivery and saw a continued strong growth in Walmart fulfillment services penetration.

我們還在本季度向我們的電子商務市場分類增加了約 2100 萬件商品，顯著增加了可用於加急交付的商品數量，並看到沃爾瑪履行服務滲透率持續強勁增長。

Walmart U.S. gross profit rate declined 12 basis points, reflecting increased supply chain costs. We're seeing inflationary cost pressures in some areas, and our merchants remain laser-focused on taking the necessary steps to mitigate supply chain congestion while working with suppliers and monitoring price gaps to manage margins appropriately. Lower markdowns and increased contributions from advertising revenue have helped offset cost pressures.

沃爾瑪美國毛利率下降 12 個基點，反映供應鏈成本增加。我們在某些領域看到了通脹成本壓力，我們的商家仍然專注於採取必要措施緩解供應鏈擁堵，同時與供應商合作並監控價格差距以適當管理利潤。較低的降價幅度和廣告收入貢獻的增加有助於抵消成本壓力。

SG&A expenses deleveraged 20 basis points, due primarily to investments in wages, but operating income was strong, up almost 6%. Inventory increased 11.5% in preparation for what we expect to be a strong holiday season. The steps taken to mitigate transit and port delays have positioned us well, including adding extra lead time to orders, chartering vessels for Walmart goods, rerouting deliveries to less congested ports and expanding overnight hours at key U.S. ports.

SG&A 支出去槓桿化 20 個基點，主要是由於工資投資，但營業收入強勁，增長近 6%。庫存增加了 11.5%，為我們預期的旺季做準備。為緩解過境和港口延誤而採取的措施使我們處於有利地位，包括增加訂單交貨時間、為沃爾瑪商品租用船隻、將貨物重新安排到不那麼擁擠的港口以及延長美國主要港口的通宵時間。

International had a great quarter, with double-digit sales growth, strong momentum in eCommerce across key markets and operating profit growth outpacing sales. eCommerce sales in constant currency grew 33% on top of strong gains last year, with growth in China, Flipkart and Mexico particularly strong. We've nearly doubled eCommerce sales in international over the past 2 years. And it's encouraging that our ecosystem is expanding and developing in areas such as digital advertising.

國際有一個偉大的季度，銷售額增長兩位數，主要市場的電子商務勢頭強勁，營業利潤增長超過銷售額。在去年強勁增長的基礎上，以固定匯率計算的電子商務銷售額增長了 33%，其中中國、Flipkart 和墨西哥的增長尤為強勁。在過去的 2 年裡，我們在國際上的電子商務銷售額幾乎翻了一番。令人鼓舞的是，我們的生態系統正在數字廣告等領域擴展和發展。

China comps were quite strong in Q3, increasing 16.5% with continued strength from Sam's Club as well as more than 90% growth in eCommerce sales. During the mid-autumn festival, sales were terrific. And we saw an acceleration in omni performance, with nearly all hypermarkets setting online sales records during this event.

中國企業在第三季度的表現相當強勁，增長了 16.5%，這得益於山姆會員店的持續增長以及電子商務銷售額的 90% 以上的增長。中秋節期間，銷售非常好。我們看到全方位的表現加速，幾乎所有的大賣場都在這次活動中創造了在線銷售記錄。

Flipkart had another good quarter, with strong sales growth and favorable trends in monthly active customers and users. In anticipation of the holiday season, the team has doubled fulfillment capacity versus last year, with dozens of new fulfillment center locations, more than 1,000 last mile delivery hubs and expanded relationships with [corona] partners to handle a large percentage of last mile deliveries.

Flipkart 又迎來了一個不錯的季度，銷售額增長強勁，月度活躍客戶和用戶呈現良好趨勢。在假期到來之際，該團隊的履行能力比去年翻了一番，新增了數十個履行中心位置，超過 1,000 個最後一英里交付中心，並擴大了與 [corona] 合作夥伴的關係，以處理大部分最後一英里交付。

Comp sales in Mexico increased 6% and grew faster than the market according to ANTAD, with strong consumer spending on categories related to back-to-school and seasonal celebrations. Customer adoption of omni offerings continue to grow. And we're seeing a strong response to the launch of Walmart fulfillment services, with 1/4 of marketplace sales fulfilled through this network.

根據 ANTAD 的數據，墨西哥的 Comp 銷售額增長了 6%，並且增長速度快於市場，消費者在與返校和季節性慶祝活動相關的類別上的支出強勁。客戶對全方位產品的採用繼續增長。我們看到對沃爾瑪配送服務推出的強烈反響，1/4 的市場銷售額通過該網絡完成。

In Canada, comp sales were up 6% and increased more than 13% on a 2-year stack. Seasonal sales events were especially strong and omni sales continued to increase. Online grocery is now available in nearly all stores. And we've launched express pickup within 2 hours and a couple of stores in Toronto. International operating income at constant currency increased 17.5%, reflecting strong sales and expense leverage.

在加拿大，comp 銷售額增長了 6%，連續 2 年增長了 13% 以上。季節性銷售活動尤其強勁，全方位銷售繼續增長。現在幾乎所有商店都可以買到網上雜貨店。我們已經在 2 小時內和多倫多的幾家商店推出了快遞取貨服務。以固定匯率計算的國際營業收入增長 17.5%，反映出強勁的銷售和費用槓桿。

Sam's Club continued to deliver excellent results, with strong growth in sales, membership and profit. Membership income was up more than 11% as we achieved another record in member counts, strong renewal rates and increased Plus Member penetration. Sam's operating income was up more than 10%. A strong membership income and expense leverage more than offset gross margin pressure from supply chain costs, fuel and inflation.

山姆會員店繼續取得優異成績，銷售額、會員資格和利潤均實現強勁增長。會員收入增長超過 11%，因為我們在會員數量、強勁的續訂率和 Plus 會員滲透率方面再創佳績。 Sam 的營業收入增長了 10% 以上。強大的會員收入和支出槓桿抵消了供應鏈成本、燃料和通貨膨脹帶來的毛利率壓力。

Now let's turn to guidance. We anticipate Q4 Walmart U.S. comp sales, excluding fuel, increasing around 5%, resulting in over a 6% gain for the full year. Annual adjusted EPS is expected to be around $6.40 for the year, representing 17% growth.

現在讓我們轉向指導。我們預計第四季度沃爾瑪在美國的銷售（不包括燃料）將增長約 5%，從而使全年增長超過 6%。全年調整後每股收益預計約為 6.40 美元，增長 17%。

We continue to make good progress on our capital investments, but we now anticipate the timing of some investments originally planned for this year will flow into next year. As a result, we expect full year CapEx to be around $13 billion versus our original guidance of $14 billion.

我們在資本投資方面繼續取得良好進展，但我們現在預計，原計劃在今年進行的一些投資的時間將流向明年。因此，我們預計全年資本支出約為 130 億美元，而我們最初的指導為 140 億美元。

In closing, I'm very encouraged by the Q3 results and I'm optimistic about Q4. I continue to be very excited about the evolution of Walmart into a one-of-a-kind omnichannel company.

最後，我對第三季度的結果感到非常鼓舞，我對第四季度持樂觀態度。我仍然對沃爾瑪發展成為一家獨一無二的全渠道公司感到非常興奮。

Thank you for your interest this morning, and we'd be happy to take your questions.

感謝您今天早上的關注，我們很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Mr. Lasser, please proceed with your question.

（操作員說明）Lasser 先生，請繼續您的問題。

When you laid out your algorithm of generating 4% top line growth and better-than-4% operating income growth, inflation wasn't nearly as hot as it is today, particularly with respect to wage inflation. So looking out over the horizon over the next several quarters, how does the current environment impact Walmart's ability to sustainably generate this algorithm into next year? Especially, Brett, as I think you just mentioned that some of the investments you were going to plan to make this year have been delayed into next year.

當你制定了產生 4% 的收入增長和超過 4% 的營業收入增長的算法時，通貨膨脹並不像今天那麼熱，特別是在工資通脹方面。因此，展望未來幾個季度，當前環境如何影響沃爾瑪在明年可持續生成該算法的能力？特別是，布雷特，正如我想你剛剛提到的，你計劃今年進行的一些投資已經推遲到明年。

Michael, it's Brett. Yes, I mean I think as we -- the algorithm we talked about last year, there were a couple of things we mentioned. One was, at the time also, we didn't see a stimulus coming, didn't anticipate stimulus coming, which ended up coming. But I would look at that more as a mid- to long-term algorithm, which I think is the way we portrayed that when we discussed it.

邁克爾，我是布雷特。是的，我的意思是我認為在我們去年討論的算法中，我們提到了幾件事。一個是，當時我們也沒有看到刺激措施的到來，沒有預料到刺激措施的到來，最終還是到來了。但我更傾向於將其視為一種中長期算法，我認為這就是我們在討論它時所描繪的方式。

Certainly, right now, we're seeing inflation in areas, and some of that's demand-driven, some of that's supply driven. Over time, things will likely work themselves out. But the context of how we think about the longer-term growth of Walmart has not changed.

當然，現在，我們看到一些地區出現通貨膨脹，其中一些是需求驅動的，一些是供應驅動的。隨著時間的推移，事情可能會自行解決。但我們對沃爾瑪長期增長的看法並沒有改變。

Okay. And my follow-up is for Doug. Walmart built a lot of new capabilities in the last couple of years, like a growing digital ad business, a driver delivery network, an online membership program. These new muscles are driving significant growth, but they're coming off a relatively low base. Does Walmart need to make any substantive changes culturally, operationally, in how it deals with stakeholders, like consumers or vendors or to influence the ability to further gain scale in these areas? Or are they operating at the level that you would expect at this point?

好的。我的後續行動是針對道格的。沃爾瑪在過去幾年建立了許多新功能，例如不斷發展的數字廣告業務、司機配送網絡、在線會員計劃。這些新肌肉正在推動顯著增長，但它們的基數相對較低。沃爾瑪是否需要在文化、運營、與利益相關者（如消費者或供應商）打交道方面做出任何實質性改變，或者影響在這些領域進一步擴大規模的能力？還是他們目前的運營水平符合您的預期？

Thanks, Michael. That's a good question. The thing that comes to mind is the change that has to happen and has happened to an extent and continues now related to working in a more digital fashion. We use a phrase here that's called 4-in-a-box which is an agile way of working with customer, product, design, technology, engineering, all around the table, designing omnichannel outcomes for customers and members.

謝謝，邁克爾。這是個好問題。想到的事情是必鬚髮生並且已經在一定程度上發生並且現在繼續與以更加數字化的方式工作有關的變化。我們在這裡使用了一個叫做 4-in-a-box 的短語，這是一種敏捷的方式，可以與客戶、產品、設計、技術、工程等各方合作，為客戶和成員設計全渠道成果。

Historically, if you look back years ago, the company would have operated in specialized silos, merchandising, operations, finance, logistics, et cetera. And the teams learned in recent years and is still learning how to move faster, begin with the end in mind, design with that outcome. And that enables us to put technology to work in a way that is truly omnichannel, not siloed. Customers and members expect that. We've got unique opportunities to deliver that, but the change inside the company has to happen to enable it.

從歷史上看，如果您回顧幾年前，該公司將在專門的筒倉、商品銷售、運營、財務、物流等方面運作。團隊在最近幾年學到了東西，並且仍在學習如何更快地行動，以終為始，以結果為出發點進行設計。這使我們能夠以真正全渠道而非孤立的方式讓技術發揮作用。客戶和會員期望如此。我們有獨特的機會來實現這一目標，但公司內部必鬚髮生變化才能實現這一目標。

Our next question is from the line of Steph Wissink with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Steph Wissink。

I wanted to give you guys a chance to talk a little bit more about how you activated your supply network and also your hiring tactics for seasonal labor. A couple of the numbers that struck us in the release were the inventory level and the labor count. If you could just talk a little bit about that 11% inventory increase, if there's any price in there that we need to be conscious of. And then 200,000 hires across. I think you said stores and supply chain, but maybe give us a sense of how that balance, where that labor resides relative to how your business has shifted more omnichannel.

我想讓你們有機會多談談你們是如何激活供應網絡的，以及你們的季節性勞動力招聘策略。在發布中讓我們印象深刻的幾個數字是庫存水平和勞動力數量。如果你能談談 11% 的庫存增加，如果其中有任何我們需要注意的價格。然後是 200,000 名員工。我想你說的是商店和供應鏈，但也許能讓我們了解這種平衡，勞動力所在的位置與你的業務如何轉向更多的全渠道。

This is Doug. I think, for that answer, we need to get John, Judith and Kath to respond because the supply chain and hiring challenges are around the world. John, you want to kick it off?

這是道格。我認為，對於這個答案，我們需要讓 John、Judith 和 Kath 做出回應，因為供應鍊和招聘挑戰遍布世界各地。約翰，你想開始嗎？

Yes, I'd love to. First, we wanted to make sure that we were positioned well for customers. It's an important time of year in general merchandise and in the food businesses. And our customers prepare to celebrate holidays all across the country. And we took a lot of steps early in the year to try to get ahead of what we thought could be some congestion and some other supply chain pressures that we've been facing throughout the year.

是的，我很樂意。首先，我們想確保我們為客戶定位良好。對於一般商品和食品企業來說，這是一年中的重要時刻。我們的客戶準備在全國各地慶祝節日。我們在年初採取了很多措施，試圖超越我們認為可能是一些擁堵和我們全年面臨的其他一些供應鏈壓力。

Some of the things that helped us in the quarter, Brett mentioned a couple things like chartering vessels, ensuring that we were forecasting appropriately. And then managing the labor across each and every piece of the supply chain has been paramount to being able to deliver an increase in inventory, as you noted, of over 11%.

在本季度幫助我們的一些事情，布雷特提到了一些事情，比如租船，確保我們進行了適當的預測。然後管理供應鏈的每一部分的勞動力對於能夠實現超過 11% 的庫存增加至關重要。

Certainly, there were pressures all along the way, but I would just complement the teams at Walmart that operate the supply chain and not only general merchandise, but our food networks, both networks have been running extremely well. There's a lot of volume going to the networks. And the teams have been very innovative in approaches to solving these problems. The supply chain is very complex. And there have been a number of places where we've seen acceleration, that would be in throughput, inbound from our vendors. And then outbound to our stores and fulfillment centers has been extremely strong.

當然，一路上都有壓力，但我只想補充沃爾瑪運營供應鏈的團隊，不僅包括日用品，還有我們的食品網絡，這兩個網絡都運行得非常好。有大量的流量進入網絡。團隊在解決這些問題的方法上非常創新。供應鏈非常複雜。我們已經在許多地方看到了加速，這將是吞吐量，從我們的供應商入站。然後到我們的商店和履行中心的出境非常強勁。

From a supply chain perspective for International, clearly, each of our markets is in a slightly different position. But the -- many of the actions that John has described apply globally around the world. But I take someone like Mexico, that market is about 93% domestically sourced. So those pressures are slightly different and depending on the categories.

從國際供應鏈的角度來看，很明顯，我們的每個市場都處於略微不同的位置。但是——約翰所描述的許多行動在全球範圍內都適用。但我選擇像墨西哥這樣的市場，該市場約 93% 來自國內。因此，這些壓力略有不同，具體取決於類別。

We spent the last couple of years expanding some of our chain capabilities, and that's really stood us in good stead. And then you've seen us ramping up our hiring in places like Canada pre the holiday season as well. That's quite normal for us, and we've had no issues with being able to do that.

在過去的幾年裡，我們一直在擴展我們的一些連鎖能力，這確實讓我們處於有利地位。然後你看到我們也在假期前在加拿大等地增加了招聘。這對我們來說很正常，我們能夠做到這一點沒有任何問題。

We're doing some good work tagging on some of the chartering of the vessels that the U.S. is doing. And I think this is where our scale and capabilities really come into play. And from an inventory perspective, we're up about 10% year-on-year, but that's ex divestitures. Actually -- so that's in divestitures. Ex divestitures, that's even higher than that. And for the first time, I'd tell you that's a good thing because it actually positions us well as we're going into the peak of the holiday season.

我們正在對美國正在租用的一些船隻進行標記。我認為這是我們的規模和能力真正發揮作用的地方。從庫存的角度來看，我們同比增長約 10%，但這是前資產剝離。實際上——這就是資產剝離。前資產剝離，甚至更高。第一次，我會告訴你這是一件好事，因為它實際上使我們處於良好的位置，因為我們正進入假期高峰期。

Yes. I would only just add on to well, Sam's obviously gets to leverage the Walmart supply chain, that's to our advantage. And we also worked deliberately this year to pull forward inventory. So we landed Halloween earlier. We landed Christmas earlier. So everything has just shifted up a little bit, which has put us in a good trading position.

是的。我只想補充一點，山姆顯然可以利用沃爾瑪的供應鏈，這是我們的優勢。今年我們還特意拉動庫存。所以我們提前登陸了萬聖節。我們提前到達聖誕節。所以一切都只是稍微上升了一點，這使我們處於良好的交易位置。

Our next question is from the line of Karen Short with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自 Barclays 的 Karen Short。

I just wanted to just ask a short-term question. So looking at your guidance for 4Q, wondering if you could give some puts on gross margin and SG&A. I appreciate there are a lot of moving parts on the wage front. But the implied 4Q flow-through on EBIT is significantly higher in 4Q than it was in 3Q. So that's my first question.

我只是想問一個短期問題。因此，查看您對第四季度的指導，想知道您是否可以對毛利率和 SG&A 給出一些建議。我很欣賞工資方面有很多變動的部分。但第四季度隱含的第四季度息稅前利潤顯著高於第三季度。所以這是我的第一個問題。

Yes. Karen, this is Brett. I think probably you answered your question a little bit is there's -- there are puts and takes as we look at the quarters or has been for the last 8 or 9 quarters, and there is really for every quarter. And as we look at all the potential things that we see in the supply chain, as we see in the labor market, as we see in pricing, the EPS guidance that we gave is kind of an amalgamation of all of those things.

是的。凱倫，這是布雷特。我想你可能回答了你的問題一點點是存在 - 當我們查看季度或過去 8 或 9 個季度時，存在看跌期權，並且每個季度都有。當我們審視我們在供應鏈中看到的所有潛在事物時，正如我們在勞動力市場中看到的那樣，正如我們在定價中看到的那樣，我們給出的每股收益指導是所有這些事物的融合。

A bit of a different mix in Q4, too, of what we'll sell.

我們將在第四季度銷售的產品也有一些不同的組合。

Our next question is from the line of Peter Benedict with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自 Peter Benedict 和 Baird。

I had kind of a question just around Walmart's positioning during periods of inflation, and recognizing that this is a level of inflation we haven't seen for a very long time. Can you just, Doug, maybe take us through how the business historically at least has responded? How customers have behaved? Are there trip changes? Is there a trade down? Or do you get access to new customers? Just curious your kind of perspective in the event that this inflationary environment persists for longer.

關於沃爾瑪在通脹時期的定位，我有一個問題，並認識到這是我們很長時間沒有看到的通脹水平。道格，你能不能帶我們了解一下這家企業在歷史上至少是如何回應的？客戶的行為如何？行程有變化嗎？有降價交易嗎？或者你能接觸到新客戶嗎？如果這種通貨膨脹環境持續更長時間，只是好奇你的看法。

Yes, sure. Peter, I was just thinking about Judith because she was reminding us this week just how much inflation we've experienced inside Walmart around the world over time. We haven't seen this kind of inflation in the U.S. for quite some time. But we have operated in markets where we've seen this basically forever and even more extreme. So that experience is helpful.

是的，當然。彼得，我只是在想朱迪思，因為她本週提醒我們，隨著時間的推移，我們在世界各地的沃爾瑪經歷了多少通貨膨脹。我們已經有一段時間沒有在美國看到這種通貨膨脹了。但是我們已經在市場上開展業務，我們基本上已經看到了這種情況，甚至更加極端。所以這個經驗是有幫助的。

And we do start with wanting to keep prices low. The purpose of the company is to save people money and help them live a better life, and we get excited about trying to do that. And the company is kind of hedged well if you think about it. With an inflationary environment, there are things that come along with that. And in a deflationary environment, we can lead down, and we're a low-cost operator, and we can take advantage of both situations.

我們確實從希望保持低價開始。該公司的目的是為人們省錢並幫助他們過上更好的生活，我們對嘗試這樣做感到興奮。如果你仔細想想，這家公司的對沖很好。在通貨膨脹的環境下，隨之而來的是一些事情。在通貨緊縮的環境中，我們可以領先，我們是低成本運營商，我們可以利用這兩種情況。

So in this case, our cost inflation is higher than our retail inflation, and that's what we would want. But we've got lots of flexibility as we monitor price gaps to decide what we do with general merchandise, what we do with apparel, for example, what we want to do with beef, with the inflation that's happening there. And it becomes a mix management exercise with us trying to manage serving the customer member well, managing the bottom line. We would care a little less about how the gross margin and SG&A balance out as we would with what the net looks like. And so we're managing in that fashion, and that's what you can expect us to do going forward.

所以在這種情況下，我們的成本通脹高於我們的零售通脹，這就是我們想要的。但是我們有很大的靈活性，因為我們監控價格差距來決定我們如何處理普通商品，我們如何處理服裝，例如，我們想如何處理牛肉，以及那裡正在發生的通貨膨脹。它變成了一個混合管理練習，我們試圖管理好為客戶成員服務，管理底線。我們不太關心毛利率和 SG&A 如何平衡，就像我們對淨額的看法一樣。因此，我們正在以這種方式進行管理，這就是您可以期望我們在未來做的事情。

Our next question is from the line of Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的西蒙·古特曼。

So I guess I'll ask a multiparter since maybe we're only getting one. First, on gross margin, the down 12% and the mention of the supply chain pressure, how should we think about it being maybe a peak point in pain in terms of supply chain cost and how it's leading to next year? And I thought I -- I think someone -- I don't know if it was Kath or Judith mentioned the buying forward of inventory. Is this inventory just owned further upstream in the supply chain? Or it's already in your DCs and stores that can be deployed?

所以我想我會問一個多方，因為也許我們只得到一個。首先，毛利率下降12%，提到供應鏈壓力，我們應該如何看待這可能是供應鏈成本的痛苦高峰，以及它如何導致明年？我想我——我想有人——我不知道是凱絲還是朱迪思提到了庫存的提前購買。這些庫存是否只是在供應鏈的上游擁有？還是已經在您的 DC 和商店中可以部署？

Simeon, it's John. Let me take the first part of the question and then we'll handle the second part together. As far as gross margin, we start all these conversations with what's the right value for customers given our position in the marketplace. And we've been pleased with the results in terms of price gaps over the last 18 months. We're in a better position than we were before the pandemic, and we intend to keep our price gaps that way.

西蒙，是約翰。讓我回答問題的第一部分，然後我們將一起處理第二部分。就毛利率而言，考慮到我們在市場上的地位，我們從對客戶的正確價值開始所有這些對話。我們對過去 18 個月的價格差距結果感到滿意。與大流行之前相比，我們處於更好的位置，我們打算以這種方式保持價格差距。

As Doug mentioned, our cost inflation is definitely higher than retail. So we will hold on moving any retail as late as possible. And what you saw during the quarter in the third quarter, more specifically in gross margin where costs that came through in terms of supply chain, that would be everything from our domestic supply chains, labor, international supply chains as well.

正如道格所說，我們的成本膨脹絕對高於零售。因此，我們將盡可能推遲任何零售業務。你在第三季度看到的情況，更具體地說是毛利率，其中供應鏈方面的成本，這將是我們國內供應鏈、勞動力、國際供應鏈的一切。

And when we have benefits of lower markdowns and higher sell-throughs. That would include back-to-school. We had a very good back-to-school season, Halloween sell-through. Both in food and general merchandise were very strong. And we see customers who are celebrating. We're pleased with our position as we go into Thanksgiving. I've been out in stores around the country, and our feature mix looks much better than a year ago. We definitely have a holiday feel. Last year, we were pretty reliant on things like snacks and beverages to fill space and we're having inventory shortages.

當我們獲得更低的降價和更高的銷售量時。這將包括返校。我們有一個非常好的開學季，萬聖節銷售。食品和日用品都非常強勁。我們看到正在慶祝的客戶。進入感恩節，我們對自己的立場感到滿意。我去過全國各地的商店，我們的功能組合看起來比一年前好多了。我們絕對有節日的感覺。去年，我們非常依賴零食和飲料之類的東西來填補空間，而我們的庫存短缺。

So, Simeon, I feel really good about the positioning going into the holiday season. We're proud of the 11.5%. I missed this a moment ago, but many ladies and gentlemen all over the country have worked very hard to make that number come to reality, including managing each piece, which is both offshore and domestically. I think the big advantage that Walmart has in times like this is about 2/3 of what we source is sourced from the United States here in the country. So we've got a lot of flexibility in terms of being able to balance this out.

所以，Simeon，我對進入假日季節的定位感覺非常好。我們為 11.5% 感到自豪。我剛才錯過了這個，但是全國各地的許多女士和先生們都非常努力地使這個數字變為現實，包括管理每件作品，無論是在海外還是在國內。我認為沃爾瑪在這樣的時代擁有的最大優勢是我們採購的大約 2/3 來自該國的美國。所以我們在平衡這一點方面有很大的靈活性。

I'll probably just add. It's Kath here, to say, it's a little bit member sentiment as well as supply chain. So we saw last year and again this year, the member sentiment of wanting to participate in seasonal events early. And so we took advantage of that and brought in the inventory earlier. We bought up 100% in Halloween costumes. We put them in earlier. We set them, and we sold through them. I think Christmas, we've already had healthy sell-through. The rest of the inventory is in country and on its way to the club. So I think that's what we're seeing, both the member sentiment and us trying to pull forward from a supply chain perspective to make sure we can see it and we've got access to it.

我可能只是補充。這裡是 Kath，可以說，這是一點點成員情緒以及供應鏈。所以我們去年和今年都看到了想要早點參加季節性活動的會員情緒。所以我們利用了這一點，更早地引入了庫存。我們買了 100% 的萬聖節服裝。我們早點把它們放進去。我們設置它們，並通過它們出售。我認為聖誕節，我們已經有健康的銷售。其餘的庫存在國內並正在運往俱樂部的途中。所以我認為這就是我們所看到的，會員情緒和我們都試圖從供應鏈的角度向前推進，以確保我們可以看到它並且我們可以訪問它。

I would maybe just add to that, it's Judith, that we are prioritizing flow around the world and have been doing for some time. So those products which we know that customers and members need most, making sure that they've got places on the vessels when it's the international supply chain to bring them in. So in addition to people wanting to buy earlier, we've also been really thoughtful about how that product is coming in as well.

我可能會補充一點，那就是朱迪思，我們正在優先考慮世界各地的流量，並且已經這樣做了一段時間。因此，我們知道客戶和會員最需要的那些產品，確保他們在國際供應鏈上的船隻上佔有一席之地。所以除了人們想早點購買之外，我們也一直在非常考慮該產品是如何進入的。

One of the most important things that happened quite a few months ago as we all kind of held hands and decided to be aggressive. So the seasonal businesses that we're driving now, we made a call on that, maybe in some cases, a year ago. And I think that helped us in terms of quantities, getting them through, getting them through earlier. And I think it's going to play out that way. I think it's going to be really strong.

幾個月前發生的最重要的事情之一，因為我們都手牽手並決定積極進取。因此，我們現在正在推動的季節性業務，我們在一年前就提出了這一要求，也許在某些情況下。我認為這在數量方面幫助了我們，讓他們通過，讓他們更早通過。我認為它會這樣發展。我認為它會非常強大。

As it relates to whether it's peak or not, Simeon, they're variables, like what happens with the virus? Is the market going to continue opening up, and people will consume services, travel and all those kinds of things? And what does that mean to goods? So there's a demand side of this as well as a supply side of it. And I don't know that any of us could call exactly where the peak is going to be.

因為它與是否達到高峰有關，西蒙，它們是變量，比如病毒會發生什麼？市場是否會繼續開放，人們會消費服務、旅遊等各種東西嗎？這對商品意味著什麼？因此，這既有需求方，也有供應方。而且我不知道我們中的任何人都可以準確地確定峰值將在哪裡。

But it doesn't really matter to us. We're going to manage through it regardless of what happens. And when we get an opportunity to take rollbacks, we're out there asking suppliers even now, do any of you want to get aggressive and swim upstream and take prices down while prices are going up to gain share? And we've got so many suppliers to work with and choose from that you find people in some categories that can do things. And as the months progress, we expect to find more of them.

但這對我們來說並不重要。無論發生什麼，我們都將通過它進行管理。當我們有機會回滾時，我們甚至現在都在問供應商，你們中的任何一個人是否想要積極進取並逆流而上並在價格上漲的同時降低價格以獲得份額？而且我們有很多供應商可以合作並從中選擇，您會發現某些類別的人可以做事。隨著幾個月的進展，我們希望能找到更多。

Our next question comes from the line of Kate McShane of Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的 Kate McShane。

It was mentioned in the prepared comments and the presentation about the impact of stimulus in Q3. And I was wondering if there was any way in which you can quantify how much stimulus had an impact in Q3 versus Q2, realizing, of course, that we're getting further away from initial stimulus, and what you're thinking of contribution of stimulus could look like in Q4.

在準備好的評論和關於第三季度刺激措施影響的介紹中提到了這一點。我想知道是否有任何方法可以量化刺激措施對第三季度和第二季度的影響，當然，意識到我們離最初的刺激措施越來越遠，以及你認為的貢獻是什麼刺激措施可能看起來像在第四季度。

Yes. Kate, this is Brett. It gets pretty challenging to try to quantify that impact with some of the other impacts that we're seeing as well. Obviously, there are some parts of the stimulus that have -- that wound down in Q3. Things like child care credits that kept going through Q3. But demand is really strong. Unit demand is strong. So in our stores, they're crowded. So we continue to see good demand. And I think as you comment -- your question stated almost, as we get further and further away from stimulus, I think it makes us feel better and better about the demand for what we're doing.

是的。凱特，這是布雷特。嘗試用我們也看到的其他一些影響來量化這種影響變得非常具有挑戰性。顯然，刺激措施的某些部分已經在第三季度結束了。諸如兒童保育學分之類的東西一直持續到第三季度。但是需求真的很旺盛。單位需求強勁。所以在我們的商店裡，他們很擁擠。因此，我們繼續看到良好的需求。我認為，正如你評論的那樣——你的問題幾乎已經說明了，隨著我們越來越遠離刺激，我認為這讓我們對我們正在做的事情的需求感覺越來越好。

And Kate, specifically in the U.S. -- it's John, by the way. Specifically in the U.S., we certainly see a consumer that has a strong balance sheet. We see spending levels higher. We see demand that's higher. Traffic being up 5.7% in the quarter is an encouraging sign. And then having categories like apparel lead the business, which is discretionary. Our apparel team has done a great job positioning, that's going into the back half of the year with new technology, new product. Having apparel lead is certainly encouraging. And then also, we're really proud of the results in food with 2-year share gains and units accelerating retail gains, I think gives us an indication of how the consumer is feeling and how they're going to be spending the rest of the year.

還有凱特，特別是在美國——順便說一句，是約翰。特別是在美國，我們當然會看到擁有強大資產負債表的消費者。我們看到支出水平更高。我們看到需求更高。本季度流量增長 5.7% 是一個令人鼓舞的跡象。然後讓服裝等類別引領業務，這是自由裁量的。我們的服裝團隊已經做了很好的定位，將在下半年推出新技術、新產品。擁有服裝領先地位當然令人鼓舞。此外，我們真的為食品領域的業績感到自豪，兩年的份額增長和單位零售增長加速，我認為這讓我們了解了消費者的感受以及他們將如何消費剩下的時間那一年。

It seems like the most pronounced thing we saw would be in hiring. Like when the stimulus dollars started to go away, the hiring situation changed faster. We saw people come back. In a matter of weeks, we were back to being staffed.

我們看到的最明顯的事情似乎是招聘。就像刺激資金開始消失時一樣，招聘情況變化得更快。我們看到人們回來了。幾週後，我們又恢復了人員配備。

Yes, that's right, Doug. More pronounced than on the demand side.

是的，沒錯，道格。比需求端更明顯。

Yes, it certainly was, and certainly felt the impact of that early in the year when the Delta variant began. And then in the last quarter or so, we've added close to 200,000 people in the workforce. We're really excited to welcome the 200,000 new associates to the company. About 25% of those are in the supply chain and another 75% are our stores and in the other areas, but that's been done to meet demand. And again, we're excited about our positioning when it comes to people, product and our pricing.

是的，當 Delta 變體開始時，它確實是，並且肯定感受到了這種影響。然後在上個季度左右，我們增加了近 200,000 名員工。我們非常高興地歡迎 200,000 名新員工加入公司。其中大約 25% 位於供應鏈中，另外 75% 位於我們的商店和其他地區，但這樣做是為了滿足需求。再一次，我們對我們在人員、產品和定價方面的定位感到興奮。

Our next question is from the line of Bob Drbul with Guggenheim Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自古根海姆證券公司的 Bob Drbul。

Two questions for me. I guess the first one is, can you share a little perspective on the Walmart+ membership program, and what you've learned so far and how you feel about it? And the second question is, can you talk about, I think, the 21 million items you added in the marketplace? I know that's been a big focus for you guys. So would just love to hear sort of where you think you are at this point.

我有兩個問題。我想第一個問題是，您能否分享一下對 Walmart+ 會員計劃的看法，以及到目前為止您學到了什麼以及您對此有何看法？第二個問題是，你能談談你在市場上添加的 2100 萬件商品嗎？我知道這對你們來說是一個很大的焦點。所以很想听聽你認為你在這一點上的位置。

Sure, Bob. First, really excited about the Walmart+ program we launched just over a year ago with some really core values for the customer, which include unlimited delivery, primarily from stores, but that doesn't include eCommerce. The program also offers fuel discounts and Scan & Go. And then most recently, we offered early access to customers, Plus Members who are shopping on our holiday events. So our Plus Members now have about a 4-hour window to be able to access product ahead of the market, and certainly seeing great results on that.

當然，鮑勃。首先，我們對一年多前推出的 Walmart+ 計劃感到非常興奮，該計劃為客戶提供了一些真正的核心價值，其中包括主要來自商店的無限制送貨，但不包括電子商務。該計劃還提供燃油折扣和 Scan & Go。最近，我們為在我們的假日活動中購物的客戶以及 Plus 會員提供了搶先體驗。因此，我們的 Plus 會員現在有大約 4 小時的時間窗口可以在市場之前獲得產品，並且肯定會看到很好的結果。

Plus is a really important part of our growth strategy over the long term. We know once a member -- a customer becomes a member, and typically, those are members that are joining who are already pick-up customers, and we know their spend increases, and our first place wallet share grows. So looking forward to the progress that we'll be able to make over that in time.

Plus 是我們長期增長戰略中非常重要的一部分。我們知道一旦會員 - 客戶成為會員，通常，那些加入的會員已經是接機客戶，我們知道他們的支出增加，我們的第一名錢包份額增加。因此，期待我們能夠及時取得進展。

And the second part of your question, could you repeat?

你問題的第二部分，你能重複一遍嗎？

Just some perspective on the eCommerce marketplace, the 21 million new items. I know that's been a focus. So just where you guys think you are at this point?

只是對電子商務市場的一些看法，即 2100 萬件新商品。我知道這是一個焦點。那麼，你們認為你們現在在哪裡？

Yes. We're currently about 160 million items available. So 21 million growth in the quarter is a really nice gain. And we certainly see a high demand for marketplace sellers. And one of the services that we're excited about is Walmart Fulfillment Services. We can scale that business just about as quickly as we'll be able to add capacity. So got a lot of great plans in the supply chain. We've talked about supply chain a number of times this year. But we've got a lot of innovation and investments in the supply chain that we're very excited about to add capacity for the overall network. But this certainly will include and support our marketplace sellers and have a great seller value proposition as we look forward.

是的。我們目前有大約 1.6 億件可用物品。因此，本季度增長了 2100 萬，這是一個非常不錯的收益。我們當然看到對市場賣家的高需求。我們感到興奮的服務之一是沃爾瑪履行服務。我們可以盡可能快地擴展該業務，就像我們能夠增加容量一樣。所以在供應鏈上有很多很棒的計劃。今年我們已經多次談到供應鏈。但是我們在供應鏈上進行了大量創新和投資，我們很高興能為整個網絡增加容量。但這肯定會包括並支持我們的市場賣家，並在我們期待的時候有一個很好的賣家價值主張。

Next question is from the line of Ben Bienvenu with Stephens.

下一個問題來自 Ben Bienvenu 和 Stephens 的觀點。

I want to ask a sort of 2-part question related to, Brett, your commentary around ROIC and some of the team's broader commentary around wage investment relative to inflation. You're at one of the strongest ROIC metrics that you've seen in some time. You're talking about -- it sounds like being pretty competitively positioned relative to hiring and being able to staff up back to full staffing as the stimulus fell off.

我想問一個由兩部分組成的問題，Brett，你對 ROIC 的評論以及團隊關於工資投資相對於通貨膨脹的一些更廣泛的評論。您處於一段時間以來看到的最強的投資回報率指標之一。你說的是——這聽起來相對於招聘而言具有相當的競爭力，並且隨著刺激措施的減少，能夠將員工重新配置為滿員。

You've also been investing in wages. I'm curious with all of those variables in place an inflationary backdrop, how do you feel about your level of investment around wages into the organization? And do you think that we're in an environment where you can deliver against the productivity loop that we were also focused on at the start of this year?

你也一直在投資工資。我很好奇所有這些變量在通貨膨脹的背景下，你對你對組織的工資投資水平有什麼看法？您是否認為我們所處的環境可以針對我們在今年年初也關注的生產力循環進行交付？

Yes. Ben, I'll go back to really what we talked about in February, which came up on a question earlier. I still feel really good about the long-term algorithms, mid- to long-term algorithms that we discussed in February about being able to grow operating income faster than sales as a company going forward. And that would portend to, I think, shareholders over time being pleased with the direction of ROI. We have some capital to invest, and John's talked a lot about that, particularly on the U.S. side on supply chain. And we're going to do that because we think it's going to help us long term on both the top line and bottom line. But I am pleased with where we are from an ROI standpoint. We're focused on it and I think over time, it should continue to grow as a company.

是的。 Ben，我會回到我們在 2 月份討論過的內容，這是早些時候提出的一個問題。我仍然對我們在 2 月份討論的長期算法、中長期算法感到非常滿意，這些算法能夠使營業收入增長速度快於公司未來的銷售額增長。我認為，這預示著股東會隨著時間的推移對投資回報率的方向感到滿意。我們有一些資本可以投資，約翰對此談了很多，特別是在美國方面的供應鏈方面。我們將這樣做，因為我們認為這將有助於我們在頂線和底線的長期。但從投資回報率的角度來看，我對我們所處的位置感到滿意。我們專注於它，我認為隨著時間的推移，它應該會繼續成長為一家公司。

One of the things we mentioned in February was the importance of automation, and we'll be talking more about that in the future. But if you just go back and review what we said there, we've got opportunities in distribution centers, fulfillment centers around the world to deploy new technology that will help us with productivity. And that will take some capital investment. But if you look at what it delivers on the other side for customers and members as well as from a productivity point of view, we continue to be excited about that.

我們在二月份提到的一件事是自動化的重要性，我們將在未來更多地討論這一點。但是，如果您回過頭來回顧一下我們在那裡所說的話，我們在世界各地的配送中心和履行中心都有機會部署新技術，這將幫助我們提高生產力。這將需要一些資本投資。但是，如果您從生產力的角度來看它為客戶和會員提供的另一面，我們仍然對此感到興奮。

And last thing I'd add, Ben, certainly, the focus on top line, Doug mentioned a few minutes ago, but we made decisions about over a year ago to certainly be aggressive with inventory positioning and the team is really focused on top line growth. One of the fun things in retail is adding up the score every day, and that starts with your revenue. And with revenue growth, we are in a position where we can leverage our fixed costs. And then as you've heard all throughout the call this morning, in the middle, we can manage, and we've got a team who are great at managing the middle. The middle would include things like costs, gross margins, wages, the other factors in the middle.

最後我要補充的是，本，當然，專注於頂線，道格幾分鐘前提到，但我們在一年多前做出決定，肯定會積極地進行庫存定位，團隊真的專注於頂線生長。零售業最有趣的事情之一就是每天將分數加起來，這從您的收入開始。隨著收入的增長，我們可以利用我們的固定成本。然後正如你在今天早上的電話會議中聽到的那樣，在中路，我們可以管理，而且我們有一支擅長管理中路的團隊。中間將包括成本、毛利率、工資等其他中間因素。

But overall, we're happy with the position and ability to manage it. And the last thing I'd say is we're excited about the investments in wages and associates. This last round positively affected about 565,000 people, and it's a really large number; 565,000 people got a raise, and we're proud to be able to be in the position to do that.

但總的來說，我們對職位和管理它的能力感到滿意。我要說的最後一件事是我們對工資和員工的投資感到興奮。最後一輪對大約 565,000 人產生了積極影響，這是一個非常大的數字； 565,000 人獲得了加薪，我們很自豪能夠做到這一點。

Our next question is from the line of Chuck Grom with Gordon Haskett.

我們的下一個問題來自 Chuck Grom 和 Gordon Haskett。

Great quarter. Brett, I was wondering if you could just unpack some of the moving parts on the third quarter, U.S. gross margin compression of 12 basis points. And I guess, looking at how you see that line item playing out in the fourth quarter.

很棒的季度。布雷特，我想知道你是否可以在第三季度拆開一些活動部件，美國毛利率壓縮 12 個基點。我想，看看你如何看待該項目在第四季度的表現。

Yes. We -- thanks, Chuck. We didn't give guidance in any specific lines on Q4. But I think it demonstrates again what we've said for many years, just all the levers that we have to pull as a company to be able to -- for a P&L to work at the same time that we're serving customers in the way that we want to. And really, Q3 would be no different from the standpoint of levers moving one way or the other, certainly had supply chain cost pressures, you had some input cost pressures. But then when you get the demand that we're having, it leads to lower markdowns, fuel was a pressure in Q3, which sometimes it's a positive, sometimes, it's a negative. Feel really good about our advertising business, John, and the growth that we're seeing in the U.S., but also globally.

是的。我們——謝謝，查克。我們沒有在第四季度的任何具體行中提供指導。但我認為它再次證明了我們多年來所說的話，只是我們作為一家公司必須拉動的所有槓桿——讓損益表在我們為客戶提供服務的同時發揮作用。我們想要的方式。真的，從槓桿以一種或另一種方式移動的角度來看，第三季度沒有什麼不同，當然有供應鏈成本壓力，你有一些投入成本壓力。但是當你得到我們的需求時，它會導致降價，燃料是第三季度的壓力，有時是積極的，有時是消極的。 John 對我們的廣告業務以及我們在美國乃至全球看到的增長感覺非常好。

So it's all these things that come together. And as a management team, cost side and margin side, it's up to us to manage those pieces in a way that gets to the results that we had in Q3 and the results that we've guided for in Q4. So we've managed through a lot of different environments over the last 8 or 9 quarters in particular and feel good about this team's ability to continue to do it.

因此，所有這些事情都結合在一起了。作為一個管理團隊，成本方面和利潤方面，由我們來管理這些部分，以達到我們在第三季度獲得的結果以及我們在第四季度指導的結果。因此，特別是在過去的 8 或 9 個季度中，我們經歷了許多不同的環境，並且對這支團隊繼續這樣做的能力感到滿意。

The next question comes from the line of Edward Yruma with KeyBanc.

下一個問題來自於 KeyBanc 的 Edward Yruma。

A quick 2-parter for me. I guess, first, you guys have added a lot of capabilities and use of AI. Really interested in understanding how it's made you change how you manage the business. Have you been able to get faster?

對我來說是一個快速的 2-parter。我想，首先，你們增加了很多人工智能的能力和使用。真正有興趣了解它如何使您改變管理業務的方式。你能變得更快嗎？

And then as a follow-up, on Marketplace, nice growth in assortment. It does seem like a lot of marketplace participants are selling items that are out of stock in the core Walmart business. I guess, how is your view on kind of Marketplace in terms of enhancing the assortment versus offering consumers products that may be sold out at Walmart?

然後作為後續行動，在 Marketplace 上，品種有了很好的增長。似乎很多市場參與者都在銷售沃爾瑪核心業務中缺貨的商品。我想，您對增強分類與提供可能在沃爾瑪售罄的消費者產品方面的市場類型有何看法？

So let me take -- Edward, this is John. A couple of things on your first question, talk about capabilities. First, the team has really changed the way they work over the last couple of years. We mentioned a few minutes ago a more digital way of working, which we call in the business, 4-in-the-box. And quite simply, we look for customer problems, associate problems, friction in the environment. And then we assemble a team of people which would include someone representing the customer, the business, product, technology, design. And these groups work through each of the problems and create digital products to take the friction out.

所以讓我來——愛德華，這是約翰。關於你的第一個問題的幾件事，談談能力。首先，團隊在過去幾年中確實改變了他們的工作方式。幾分鐘前，我們提到了一種更加數字化的工作方式，我們在業務中稱之為 4-in-the-box。很簡單，我們尋找客戶問題、關聯問題、環境摩擦。然後我們組建了一個團隊，其中包括代表客戶、業務、產品、技術、設計的人。這些小組解決了每一個問題，並創造了數字產品來消除摩擦。

Along the way, the real benefit is the data that's generated from these products. One example is we're managing our backrooms of supercenters and neighboring markets around the country, using computer vision and augmented reality to not only know what's in the backroom, but what can be moved to the floor. And we use AR, augmented reality, as a way for associates to know how to direct work. And from that, we generate literally billions of pieces of data every week, and it's helping us with overall inventory management. And I think our in-stock positions reflect that work as an example.

一路走來，真正的好處是這些產品產生的數據。一個例子是，我們正在管理我們在全國各地的超級中心和鄰近市場的後台，使用計算機視覺和增強現實技術不僅可以知道後台有什麼，而且可以將什麼移到地板上。我們使用 AR（增強現實）作為員工了解如何指導工作的一種方式。由此，我們每週生成數十億條數據，這有助於我們進行整體庫存管理。我認為我們的庫存頭寸反映了這一工作作為一個例子。

Second, on the marketplace, we've taken more of an open approach on the marketplace. And we're ensuring that each of our search and recall algorithms are working on behalf of the customer. What's really important in retail is knowing your customer, understanding the customer's intent. And then take in the catalog, whether it's 1P or 3P, and matching the items that they are looking for. And then it's up to the team here to execute it. We've got a really clear customer value index that we think about each and every day online. And we measure ourselves to that.

其次，在市場上，我們對市場採取了更加開放的態度。我們確保我們的每個搜索和召回算法都代表客戶工作。零售業真正重要的是了解您的客戶，了解客戶的意圖。然後把目錄拿進去，不管是1P還是3P，匹配他們要找的項目。然後由這裡的團隊來執行它。我們有一個非常清晰的客戶價值指數，我們每天都在網上思考。我們以此來衡量自己。

So we're really centered on -- as I said a couple of times this morning, really centered on revenue growth, focused on the customer. And then we'll work through the other pressures, as Brett mentioned, like we have the last 8 or 9 quarters.

所以我們真的專注於 - 正如我今天早上多次說過的那樣，真正專注於收入增長，專注於客戶。然後我們將克服其他壓力，正如布雷特所說，就像我們有最後 8 或 9 個季度一樣。

We're using ML and AI to do a number of different things. We used it to help adjust to the pandemic and use the stores as fulfillment hubs. And we use it for predictive baskets, smart substitutions. Our in-stock assistant is AI empowered. And this modernization that we've been talking about with you guys in previous meetings is continuing, which unlocks more capability to use that data. We've moved 153 petabytes of data to the cloud so far. And we've got room to grow there. And we can put data and machines to work in ways in this company that we've not yet done, but we are making progress.

我們正在使用 ML 和 AI 來做許多不同的事情。我們用它來幫助適應大流行並將商店用作履行中心。我們用它來預測籃子，智能替換。我們的庫存助手支持人工智能。我們在之前的會議上一直在與你們討論的這種現代化正在繼續，這釋放了更多使用這些數據的能力。到目前為止，我們已將 153 PB 的數據移至雲端。我們在那裡有成長的空間。我們可以將數據和機器以我們尚未完成的方式在這家公司中發揮作用，但我們正在取得進展。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question is from the line of Robbie Ohmes with Bank of America.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Robbie Ohmes。

I'm going to break the rule on the one question. Just on -- just to let you know ahead of time. Doug, I was hoping -- can you frame the digital advertising opportunity for us a little bit, both maybe U.S. and International? You guys, I think, have mentioned it quite a bit on this call. How big is it now? How big can it get? Areas you're developing? And then just my add-on question is just, I don't think you guys spoke about the gas prices rising. And maybe remind us, maybe, John, you can remind us the gas price impact on the customer outlook for Walmart with it going up so much.

我將在一個問題上打破規則。就在——只是為了讓你提前知道。道格，我希望——你能為我們提供一些數字廣告機會嗎，也許是美國和國際？我想，你們在這次電話會議上已經提到了很多。現在有多大？能長到多大？您正在開發的領域？然後只是我的附加問題，我認為你們沒有談到汽油價格上漲。也許提醒我們，也許，約翰，你可以提醒我們天然氣價格對沃爾瑪客戶前景的影響，因為它上漲了很多。

Robbie, I would expect you to break that rule. As it relates to digital advertising, we are really excited about it. Obviously, we're coming off a smaller base than some others. We shared that the 2-year stack is 240% in the U.S. At some point, we may share a number with you. We're obviously talking about that.

羅比，我希望你打破這個規則。由於它與數字廣告有關，我們對此感到非常興奮。顯然，我們的基數比其他一些小。我們分享了美國的 2 年籌碼量為 240%。在某個時候，我們可能會與您分享一個數字。我們顯然在談論這個。

The thing I'm excited about is it's happening everywhere. Judith is driving an advertising income business around the world. And this flywheel that we showed you guys in February is coming to life across markets in a way that generates a different business model that will change the company in the long term. And it's happening. And we're excited about the fact we've got traction in a number of different areas.

我感到興奮的是它無處不在。朱迪思正在世界各地推動廣告收入業務。我們在 2 月份向你們展示的這個飛輪正在以一種不同的商業模式在市場上出現，從長遠來看，這將改變公司。它正在發生。我們對我們在許多不同領域獲得牽引力這一事實感到興奮。

Gas prices are a concern. They're a concern not just in this country, but everywhere. They're up dramatically versus a year ago. And the customers had money. And at some point, that's going to come to an end. Hopefully, that's a gradual process. And hopefully, gas prices come down. And we sell a lot of fuel in both Walmart U.S. and Sam's. We're trying to help keep those prices down.

天然氣價格令人擔憂。他們不僅在這個國家，而且在任何地方都是一個問題。與一年前相比，它們大幅上升。客戶有錢。在某個時候，這將結束。希望這是一個漸進的過程。希望汽油價格能下降。我們在 Walmart U.S. 和 Sam's 都銷售大量燃料。我們正在努力幫助降低這些價格。

I'll just pick up a couple of things, Robbie. On ads, excited about the momentum. I like the way the team has positioned the business and call it Walmart Connect. It connects buyers, sellers and customers on the platform. And that's really important that everything we do is centered around the customer. In the last quarter, we added a new Chief Revenue Officer, Seth Dallaire. We're excited to have Seth on board, and looking forward to the impact he'll be able to make in the ad business.

羅比，我只是拿一些東西。在廣告上，對勢頭感到興奮。我喜歡團隊定位業務的方式，並將其稱為 Walmart Connect。它連接平台上的買家、賣家和客戶。我們所做的一切都以客戶為中心，這一點非常重要。在上個季度，我們增加了一位新的首席營收官 Seth Dallaire。我們很高興賽斯加入，並期待他能夠在廣告業務中產生影響。

And as Doug said on fuel, certainly, we're watching the pricing in fuel where we can offer value. We will and we do. But we know that Americans spend a large percentage of their income on food and energy. And so with pressure on energy prices, then certainly, it sets us and the team to do everything we can to keep prices low and to fight inflation, and the team is doing a nice job at that.

正如道格關於燃料所說，當然，我們正在關注我們可以提供價值的燃料定價。我們會而且我們會這樣做。但我們知道，美國人將大部分收入用於食品和能源。因此，在能源價格面臨壓力的情況下，當然，這讓我們和團隊竭盡全力保持低價並對抗通貨膨脹，而團隊在這方面做得很好。

It's Judith. Maybe just on our tech for International. One of the other things to add way that we're sharing technology, but also capabilities around the world. Does that flywheel build out using the capabilities that we're building in different markets to support markets that are earlier in their journey is really important.

是朱迪思。也許只是在我們的國際技術上。增加我們共享技術的方式的另一件事，還有世界各地的能力。這個飛輪是否使用我們在不同市場中建立的能力來支持早期市場的發展，這真的很重要。

So for example, the Flipkart adtech platform, which was developed and really quite mature, we're deploying that in Chile, for example, whereas Walmart Connect, that program is deploying in Mexico and Canada. So in another great one of those areas where not only is it benefiting all of the markets pretty much around the world, it's also ultimately being built off shared capabilities.

例如，開發並非常成熟的 Flipkart 廣告技術平台，我們正在智利部署它，而 Walmart Connect，該程序正在墨西哥和加拿大部署。因此，在另一個偉大的領域中，它不僅使世界各地的所有市場都受益，而且最終還建立在共享能力的基礎上。

Our next question is from the line of Paul Lejuez with Citigroup.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Paul Lejuez。

Could you talk about cost inflation on the grocery side of the business versus general merchandise? What are you seeing on each? And how do you think that compares to what competitors might be seeing? And what do you expect them to do in terms of passing it through to the consumer? And how does that influence your decision about pricing?

您能談談雜貨業務與一般商品的成本膨脹嗎？你在每一個上看到了什麼？您認為這與競爭對手可能看到的情況相比如何？您希望他們在將其傳遞給消費者方面做什麼？這對您的定價決策有何影響？

Paul, this is John. First, as we said earlier, our unit growth in grocery is growing faster than dollars, and that's a position we'd like to stay in as long as we possibly can. We want to keep prices low for customers all across the business, and we'll be the last to go up. So we're happy with our price positioning. We see gaps that are wider now than they were before the pandemic began. And we intend to maintain that position.

保羅，這是約翰。首先，正如我們之前所說，我們在雜貨店的單位增長速度超過了美元，這是我們希望盡可能長時間保持的位置。我們希望為整個企業的客戶保持低價，我們將是最後一個上漲的。所以我們對我們的價格定位感到滿意。我們現在看到的差距比大流行開始之前更大。我們打算保持這一立場。

As far as the mix goes, it's relatively even across the business. So there are areas, with probably the exception of the beef category, that really stand out, from grocery to general merchandise. But we've got solid growth in general merchandise as well. Leading the business is apparel. Our health and wellness business has been strong. So the supercenter and the overall business has an ability to mix, that's quite helpful.

就組合而言，它在整個業務中相對均勻。因此，從雜貨店到日用百貨，除了牛肉類別之外，有些領域確實很突出。但我們在一般商品方面也有穩健增長。引領行業的是服裝。我們的健康和保健業務一直很強勁。所以超級中心和整體業務有混合的能力，這很有幫助。

And in the last quarter, part of the margin compression, we were down about 12 basis points, was benefited by mix. It was benefited by higher sell-through. And then it was also benefited by lower markdowns as a result of those sell-throughs. And then we had supply chain costs that came through. So the team at Walmart have a broad portfolio of categories and a broad portfolio of levers that they can use to keep prices low for customers.

而在上個季度，部分利潤率壓縮，我們下跌了約 12 個基點，受益於混合。它受益於更高的銷售量。然後，由於這些銷售，它還受益於較低的降價。然後我們有了供應鏈成本。因此，沃爾瑪的團隊擁有廣泛的類別組合和廣泛的槓桿組合，他們可以用來為客戶保持低價。

Our next question is from the line of Joe Feldman from Telsey Advisory Group.

我們的下一個問題來自 Telsey 諮詢集團的 Joe Feldman。

I wanted to go back to something that you guys mentioned earlier in the call. I think, Doug, when you were -- in your prepared remarks, you mentioned seeing the pandemic causing shifts in shopping behavior, which we all talked about a lot. And then a little later, I think you guys talked about seeing some of those behavior shifting away from what we saw during the pandemic. And I was hoping you could share some thoughts on basically what you're seeing and what you expect to stay with us for the long term in terms of some of these behavior changes in terms of shopping.

我想回到你們之前在電話會議中提到的事情。我想，道格，當你在準備好的講話中，你提到看到大流行導致購物行為的轉變，我們都談了很多。過了一會兒，我想你們談到看到其中一些行為與我們在大流行期間看到的有所不同。我希望你能分享一些關於你所看到的以及你期望長期留在我們身邊的一些想法，就購物方面的一些行為變化而言。

I think pickup and delivery around the world will grow. And the step change that occurred will stay and then grow from there probably at a lower rate. That's what we're seeing here. But the store traffic is the biggest issue. When the pandemic enabled it, people came back to stores. And I think they like stores. They want to have that experience. They enjoy seeing merchandise, being around each other. And that's why omnichannel makes so much sense. So grateful for that.

我認為世界各地的取貨和送貨將會增長。並且發生的階躍變化將保持不變，然後可能以較低的速度增長。這就是我們在這裡看到的。但店鋪流量是最大的問題。當大流行啟用它時，人們回到商店。我認為他們喜歡商店。他們想擁有那種體驗。他們喜歡看商品，彼此相處。這就是全渠道如此有意義的原因。對此非常感激。

There are other things like telehealth that will persist forever. The goods versus services trade-off that happened during the lockdowns and during the heavier pandemic period were definitely a big deal. We'll see how that plays out over time. People eating at home, I think they've enjoyed that and they're going to do more of that. And that gives us an opportunity across all of our formats around the world. Is there anything any of you would add to that?

還有其他諸如遠程醫療之類的東西將永遠存在。在封鎖期間和大流行期間發生的商品與服務的權衡絕對是一件大事。隨著時間的推移，我們將看到它如何發揮作用。在家吃飯的人，我認為他們很享受，他們會做更多的事情。這為我們提供了一個跨越全球所有格式的機會。你們有什麼要補充的嗎？

I think you covered it.

我想你涵蓋了它。

Thank you. At this time, we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I'll now turn the call over to Doug McMillon for closing remarks.

謝謝你。此時，我們已經到了問答環節的尾聲。我現在將把電話轉給 Doug McMillon 做結束語。

Yes. I'll just wrap up by saying we appreciate your attention on Walmart. And hopefully, what you can see is that the business is changing. We can sell customers and members things in a variety of ways. We can make money doing it. The business model is changing. The digital transformation is underway. This is a different company than it was. And we've got a lot of runway in front of us.

是的。最後，我會說我們感謝您對沃爾瑪的關注。希望您能看到業務正在發生變化。我們可以通過多種方式向客戶和會員銷售商品。我們可以通過這樣做來賺錢。商業模式正在發生變化。數字化轉型正在進行中。這是一家與以往不同的公司。而且我們面前有很多跑道。

We're looking now at our input metrics. We're not just enjoying the benefits of some of these tailwinds and feeling like we're suddenly a company that's arrived. We're paying attention to Net Promoter Scores. We're working on the things underneath that will enable us to continue to grow regardless of what the environment is like.

我們現在正在查看我們的輸入指標。我們不僅享受其中一些順風帶來的好處，而且感覺我們突然成為一家已經到來的公司。我們正在關注淨推薦值。我們正在研究底層的東西，無論環境如何，我們都能繼續成長。

There will be a point in time -- some point in the future where you guys will be asking us about deflation and you'll be asking us about how we're going to grow share. And we're focused on growing share today and in that environment. We run the company for the long term, manage it for the short term, and really proud of what the team is doing to make that happen and grateful to our associates. Have a great day.

會有一個時間點——在未來的某個時間點，你們會問我們關於通貨緊縮的問題，你會問我們如何增加份額。我們專注於在今天和那種環境中增加份額。我們長期經營公司，短期管理公司，並為團隊為實現這一目標所做的一切感到自豪，並感謝我們的員工。祝你有美好的一天。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。