I really like the flexibility the team has built-in. We delivered Halloween up until 06:00 PM on the date of the holiday, which is something we haven’t been able to do before. So our Express and same day delivery service continues to grow, which is helping us right up until the point customers need product.
Kate McShane: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Michael Lasser with UBS. Please proceed with your question.
Michael Lasser: Good morning. Thank you so much for taking my question. Looking towards next year, how linear will the relationship be between Walmart’s overall comp and the operating income growth? So if you only comp 2%, let’s say, could you still grow operating income at the higher end of your range, call it 7% to 8%? And how does the prospect of broad-based deflation impact that, especially, as some of the naysayers say, that Walmart’s comp in recent quarters has just been driven by the impact of inflation? Thank you.
John David Rainey: Well, Michael, it’s good to speak with you. One of the things that we’re looking at closely in our business is units, and we’ve seen good growth in units, so it has not been entirely driven by just higher prices. We think we’re positioned well as we go into the end of this year and into next year. To answer your question, it would depend upon what’s driving the 2% comp. And so it’s hard to extrapolate trends from this year into that. The team here, though, is very focused on what could happen in a more deflationary environment and making sure that we’re –we have a cost structure that supports the revenue environment that we operate in. So when you think about the relationship between operating income and sales on a multi-year basis, we actually feel like we’re in a really strong position given what’s happening in the business from one quarter to the next that may not always be the case as we manage through certain headwinds, but we feel like we’re positioned well for virtually any economic environment.
And I’ll remind you, like I know there’s maybe trepidation or concern among consumer health. This is when we shine. This is when Walmart is at its best when we can deliver value for our members and customers. And so we look forward to being able to put up financial results in any economic environment.
John Furner: Michael, we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to keep prices as low as possible for our customers. I’m really pleased in the U.S. business that our rollback count is up significantly over last year. It was a lot of fun to be able to tell all of our customers that Thanksgiving at Walmart this year will be a lower price than what it was a year ago. We worked really hard the last two years to keep it flat, and it’s coming down, and that’s great for customers. You had really stubborn inflation in categories like dry grocery. So I’m excited when I’m in stores. And I was in Uvalde, Texas the other day, the number of rollbacks that we have out on feature in front of customers right up front in categories like dry grocery.
A lot of our fresh categories have come in line. Eggs and dairy have come back in line from a year ago. That’s great for customers. And as John David said, that’s the time that we win. We deliver value and our team’s ready to do that in any condition.
Michael Lasser: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question is from the line of Rupesh Parikh with Oppenheimer. Please proceed with your question.
Rupesh Parikh: Good morning, and thanks for taking my question. And I had a question just on the SG&A line. So at least in the Walmart U.S. business, it appears both wage inflation and remodels appear to be a significant headwind on that line. So just curious if you expect those headwinds to continue into next year?
John Furner: Yeah, Rupesh. Good morning. It’s John. The remodels really that was a big number of remodels ahead. I mentioned earlier 197 remodels completed between late October and November 3. Of course, we’ll continue our remodel program throughout next year. We have a good plan on the number of sites and we’re excited about the results that we’re seeing. From those, we definitely hear and know that our results change for categories like apparel, home. So I think we’re — we have a good plan there. It was a higher number at the end of the quarter and the end of the month than what we had originally planned for. Some had slipped in the later period. So I think we’ll have a good balance as we move forward. On wages. We’re staffed, ready for the holiday.
For the most part, stores and distribution centers are completely staffed. There are some locations that will continue to hire, and we didn’t go out this year with a large number of people that we intended to hire for the holiday. We’re happy with our full-time part-time ratio and where we need hours the next few weeks, which is really next week for food leading into the event Wednesday going into the Thanksgiving holidays and Black Friday, we’ll be ready to manage the business with our existing associates.
Rupesh Parikh: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question is from the line of Krisztina Katai with Deutsche Bank. Please proceed with your question.
Krisztina Katai: Hi. Good morning and thanks for taking my question. On general merchandise, the low to mid=single digit deflation that you’re seeing relative to the comp that you put up would imply maybe that the units have improved sequentially. So one, can you talk about what you are seeing in units, your current price gap this holiday, and how might you be thinking about price versus units dynamic into next year. And then two, I just wanted to see if Kath and Chris would like to share their initial reflections on the new roles?
