Walmart e-commerce and comparable sales jump

Walmart Inc on Thursday reported a 40 percent rise in US e-commerce sales during the second quarter, faster than the previous quarter's 33 percent advance.

Walmart's e-commerce performance has become the most widely anticipated metric after online sales growth slowed during the crucial holiday quarter, fueling investor concern over its ability to compete with e-commerce rival Amazon.com Inc.

Sales at US stores open at least a year rose 4.5 percent, excluding fuel, in the second quarter. That exceeded analyst forecasts of 2.3 percent, according to research firm Consensus Metrix. Walmart said the comparable sales increase was the highest in more than a decade.

Adjusted earnings per share increased to $1.29 per share, beating expectations of $1.22 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.