Free Republic

Wal-Mart is "hugely profitable," writes the National Employment Law Project (NELP) in a recent commentary, generating "$482 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2016." Here, the writer falsely equates revenue (the money a company takes in before subtracting expenses) and profit (how much a company makes after it pays its costs). It's a common tactic used to shock readers and inflate the perception of a company's finances. Wal-Mart's actual profit, according to SEC filings, was only 3 percent of its total revenue. That works out to roughly $6,400 dollars in profit for each of the company's 2.3 million employees—a profit...

Walmart reported relatively decent Q1 results, however one item that was apparent is that costs are still a factor in the business, as operating income was lower y/y even on increased revenues. We've discussed many times the fact that Walmart has been overly eager to boost everyone's wage in order to appease the living wage crowd, and as a result the company has had to move forward with massive layoffs and store closings to try and mitigate the impact on profits. Earlier this month we also noted that Walmart is testing out drones that when operational, will be able to...

Police have identified the suspect who opened fire at a Walmart store in Amarillo this afternoon as Mohammad Moghaddam, 54. Mohammad Moghaddam, an immigrant, came to Amarillo with his family eight years ago from Iran. Immigrant services from Amarillo would not discuss with reporters whether they helped relocate the family to the Amarillo area. Police say Mohammad was upset he was passed over for a promotion so he took his manager and another person hostage. He was shot dead by police.

Burying the lede — the suspect, a current or former Walmart employee, was said to be a Somalian man wearing khaki pants, KFDA-TV reports. Police said in a press release at 12:25 local time that no victims had been found inside the building and there is no ongoing shooting “at this moment.” It is not known if anyone was wounded elsewhere. The initial call was for a suspect who was actively shooting inside the store, according to police radio dispatches. You can listen to the initial police and fire radio dispatches below:

COLUMBIA, SC Columbia police are questioning six people in connection to a shooting Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of the Walmart on Garners Ferry Road. One person was taken to a local hospital after the shooting. The person or persons responsible for the shooting are still being sought. Six people (some adults and some juveniles) were detained following a traffic stop on Decker Boulevard between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Richland County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Curtis Wilson said. “The sheriff's department determined the vehicle might be linked to the Garners Ferry incident, so they detained the folks and turned them...

Amarillo (Texas) police on scene of active shooting with hostage situation where 1 to 3 Muslim Somalis dressed in Walmrt uniforms are holding hostages at Walmart in Amarillo TX and SWAT is responding. The number of Somali terrorists is unconfirmed.

3 Somalis took hostages in a Wal*Mart. Texas SWAT solves problem, all hostages are safe. AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) -- The person who reportedly started an active shooter situation at an Amarillo Walmart was shot dead by SWAT officers. According to the APD, there were no confirmed victims suffering from gunshot wounds at the store.

Burying the lede — The suspect, a current or former Walmart employee, was said to be a Somalian man wearing khaki pants, KFDA-TV reports. Police said in a press release at 12:25 local time that no victims had been found inside the building and there is no ongoing shooting “at this moment”. It is not known if anyone was wounded elsewhere. The initial call was for a suspect who was actively shooting inside the store, according to police radio dispatches. You can listen to the initial police and fire radio dispatches below:

The Amarillo Police Department is reporting an active situation at the Amarillo Walmart at 4215 Canyon Drive. Early reports indicate an armed man is inside the store. APD and several other agencies including DPS, Amarillo Emergency Management and Randall County are on scene. There are unconfirmed reports of a possible hostage situation. Police are searching for a Somalian man wearing Kakhi pants. Police are shutting down I-27 & Georgia north-and-south-bound exits. Police are asking motorists to please avoid the area so that officers can focus on the scene and not traffic. NewsChannel10 has multiple crews on the scene and will...

AMARILLO, TX (KFDA) - The Amarillo Police Department is reporting an active situation at the Amarillo Walmart at 4215 Canyon Drive. Early reports indicate an armed man is inside the store. APD and several other agencies including DPS, Amarillo Emergency Management and Randall County are on scene. There are unconfirmed reports of a possible hostage situation. Police are searching for a Somalian man wearing Kakhi pants.

Police say a rancher jumped on his horse and lassoed a man who was trying to steal a bicycle in the parking lot of an Oregon Walmart. The Medford Mail Tribune reports 28-year-old Robert Borba was at the Eagle Point store getting dog food Friday when he heard a woman screaming that someone was trying to steal her bike. The rancher says he quickly got his horse out of its trailer, grabbed a rope, rode over and lassoed the man and bicycle.

Now on TV. "Fair Wage Warriors" have stormed a Cook County Walmart, blocking all checkout lines while demanding a "fair wage." No police present; Cook County Board members backing the protestors.

DANBURY - Aimee Toms was washing her hands in the women’s bathroom at Walmart in Danbury Friday when a stranger approached her and said, “You’re disgusting!” and “You don’t belong here!” After momentary confusion, she realized that the woman next to her thought - because of her pixie-style haircut and baseball cap - that she was transgender. Besides being a pretty normal choice of style for women, Toms’ has a short haircut because she recently donated hair - for the third time - to a program that makes wigs for child cancer patients. “I’ve had people call me all sorts...

Anyone out shopping yesterday notice more transvestites than usual? In my local WalMart I counted 5 definitely and maybe 7 and no I didn't go into the bathroom. In a good year I'll see maybe .75 total transvestites in this lily-white, upper-crust area Wal Mart in the Capital District of NY. No pictures as I'm awful with my phone/camera and being sneaky. I realize evidence is crucial to the believability of this event and I am sorry, and that's why I'm wondering anyone else saw this. It looked like an organized event, or maybe the bus of a traveling Drag...

Wal-Mart Stores on Thursday reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, as sales in the U.S. market rose and the retailing giant kept a lid on costs. Shares of Wal-Mart closed up more than 9 percent Thursday. The company posted first-quarter earnings per share of 98 cents, versus $1.03 a share in the year-earlier period. Revenue for the quarter came in at $115.9 billion, against the comparable year-earlier figure of $114.83 billion. Analysts polled by Reuters expected the retail giant to report earnings per share of 88 cents on revenue of $113.22 billion.

A number of conservative groups started an anti-Target protest in the wake of the chain’s April 19 statement that transgender customers in its North Carolina stores could use restrooms and fitting rooms of the gender they identify with. “We observed a noticeable fall off in traffic at Target during the last week in April and a meaningful pickup at Walmart during that same time,” said Richard Chmiel, chief executive of RS Metrics, which uses satellites to monitor thousands of retail parking lots across the country in order to identify changing business trends. “We suspect the bathroom boycott which was gaining...

<p>Wal-mart Stores reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations on Thursday.</p> <p>The company posted first-quarter earnings per share of 98 cents, compared to $1.03 a share in the year-earlier period.</p> <p>Revenue for the quarter came in at $115.9 billion, against the comparable year-ago figure of $114.83 billion.</p>

John Saul Miller was dying of cancer when the convicted felon managed to commit two armed robberies last year after being pardoned by Virginia's governor. When he was arrested after the second holdup -- the gunpoint robbery of a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Chesterfield County -- he was still wearing a GPS tracking device that he was required to wear as a condition of his pardon by Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Miller, 29, who has since died, had asked for absolution of earlier crimes based on his medical diagnosis and declining health, and McAuliffe granted his request on June. 3. But...

The  presence of .22 rimfire at Wal-Mart has been uncommon for three years now.  When President Obama pushed for more infringements on the Second Amendment, starting in 2013, the demand for .22 rimfire skyrocketed.  Instead of raising prices on the ammunition sufficiently to bring demand down to reasonable levels, manufacturers tried to keep prices stable to earn customer good will.  It failed as a strategy.  With the demand so high, less public entrepreneurs purchased all the .22 they could obtain, then offered it over the Internet, at gun shows, and other venues, at three to four times the price...

The Baton Rouge woman who was arrested after leaving her 3-year-old child alone at a Wal-Mart store Friday is in need of psychiatric help but doesn’t belong in jail, according to the grandmother who has temporary custody of four of her other children. The grandmother, Gale N. Edwards, said 32-year-old Chentra Lynette Washington, who remained in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Saturday, has struggled with mental illness for a while and has sought treatment for it previously. Edwards said Washington is mother to one girl and five boys, one of whom Washington left at the store while she went...