Walmart shares tumble over 4 pc; m-cap falls nearly $10 bln

Walmart shares slumped more than 4 per cent in the morning trade today wiping off nearly USD 10 billion from its market capitalisation, hours after the retail giant announced USD 16 billion worth Flipkart deal.

The shares took a beating amid concerns that the deal could impact profits of Walmart.

The American retail major's shares fell over 4 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange at around USD 82.13 apiece.

At this level, the market capitalisation was more than USD 242 billion, which is way lower than yesterday's closing level.

At Tuesday's closing price of USD 85.74 per share, Walmart had a market capitalisation of little over USD 253 billion.

In the biggest deal in the fast-growing e-commerce space, Walmart today said it is buying 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for about USD 16 billion and it would give the retailer access to Indian e-commerce market that is estimated to grow to USD 200 billion within a decade.

The deal values Flipkart at USD 20.8 billion.

"If the transaction were to close at the end of the second quarter of this fiscal year, Walmart expects a negative impact to FY19 EPS (Earnings Per Share) of approximately USD 0.25 to 0.30, which includes incremental interest expense related to the investment.

"In FY20, as we look to accelerate growth in this important market, Walmart anticipates an EPS headwind in total of around USD 0.60 per share," Walmart said in a release.