Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Lunch, our afternoon update on today's market action news and analysis.

Good afternoon. Today is Tuesday, February 20th, and I'm your host, Kim Khan. Our top story so far.

Walmart topped consensus estimates with its Q4 earnings report. Comparable sales in the U.S. rose 4% to top the consensus estimate of 3.2%.

Transactions were 4.3% higher during the quarter.

E-commerce sales rose 23% and contributed 240 basis points to comparable sales.

Walmart's global advertising business grew about 33%

including 22% for Walmart Connect in the U.S.

Walmart's consolidated gross margin improved 39 basis points.

Walmart also confirmed that it's acquiring Vizio for $11.50 per share in cash,

which works out to a fully diluted equity value of around 2.3 billion dollars.

Vizio stock had surged last week on reports that talks were ongoing.

The acquisition of Vizio and its SmartCast operating system

is expected to enable Walmart to connect with

and serve its customers in new ways including innovative television and

in-home entertainment and media experiences. Walmart said the deal will also create new opportunities to help advertisers

connect with customers.

Also of note, the average ticket for Walmart shoppers was down 0.3% for Q4.

But on the call, CEO Doug McMillan said the slope of the company heading into a

deflationary position soften during the quarter as food and consumables prices fell

less than anticipated compared to a year ago.

Recently, Morgan Stanley issued a note that highlighted increased uptake and interest in

weight loss drugs, and those that use them are spending less when shopping for food.

...