Walmart CEO “continue to be excited” about Flipkart even as latter erodes profits

Around a month after Walmart’s CEO and President Doug McMillon was left “delighted” with Flipkart’s progress during his visit to Bengaluru, the homegrown e-commerce leader and Amazon’s bitter rival has dragged down Walmart’s earnings from its international business along with a decline in its overall operating income. Walmart, which follows February-January as its financial year, recently announced its Q1 FY20 earnings.

Doug McMillon said he “continue(s) to be excited about the opportunity” with Flipkart and PhonePe and he is impressed with the team’s ability “to innovate for customers with speed,” he added in the company statement sharing Q1 results.

Walmart’s operating income from the international business came down by 41.7 per cent from $1.3 billion in Q1 FY19 to $700 million in Q1 FY20 largely due to “dilution from Flipkart, which was expected, partially offset by the deconsolidation of Brazil,” said Walmart’s EVP & CFO Brett Biggs.