Walmart shares rose more than 6% on Thursday, heading for a record close as investors digested the retailer’s upbeat forecast.

Brooke DiPalma of Yahoo Finance reports:

For fiscal year 2025, Walmart now expects sales growth between 3.75% and 4.75% and adjusted earnings per share between $2.35 and $2.43. The previous forecast was for sales growth of 3% to 4% and adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.23 to $2.37.

Second-quarter revenue rose 4.8% to $169.34 billion, compared to expectations of $168.46 billion. Adjusted earnings also beat estimates at $0.67 per share, up 9.8% year over year.

“Every part of the business is growing,” CEO Doug McMillon said in the press release. “Store and club sales are increasing, e-commerce is growing as we add pickup, and delivery is growing even faster as our speed increases.”

He added that the retailer’s online marketplace, membership model and advertising business (which grew 26 percent globally) helped diversify its profits.

In the US, sales in the stores rose by 4.3 percent. This included an increase of 4.2 percent at the Walmart store of the same name and an increase of 5.2 percent at Sam’s Club.

The food retail sector remains a key business and a key factor in higher customer frequency and higher receipt amounts.

“We know they care about value and their budgets are tight. They focus on the things that give them value and are picky about buying the more expensive items,” CFO John David Rainey told Yahoo Finance.