Walmart earnings test investor patience

NEW YORK — Walmart is spending billions of dollars to pay its hourly workers more and spruce up its stores and online services.

Walmart also reported lower-than-expected revenue for the quarter and lowered its annual sales forecast because of the negative impact of a strong dollar and the company’s move to close some stores globally.

“Overall, the results were somewhat underwhelming, and suggest the road to improvement for Walmart is going be drawn out,” Michael Lasser, analyst at UBS, wrote in a report published Thursday.

Walmart also faces increasing competition from online leader Amazon.com, dollar stores and traditional grocers like Kroger, all of which are pushing lower prices and convenience.

Walmart says shoppers are benefiting from lower gas prices, but it’s now battling deflation in key areas like meat and dairy products.

Walmart is making lots of changes that it says will help it stay competitive in a changing retail landscape.

Last month, Walmart announced it would close 269 stores, including 154 in the U.S. The closings are part of the review of operations and are intended to make Walmart more nimble to better compete with rivals.

During the holiday season, Walmart made a concerted effort to pull back on temporary promotions and focus on its “everyday low price” strategy.

Greg Foran, president of Walmart’s U.S. business, said on a call with reporters Thursday that investments in its workers are crucial to improving customer experience.