“As the fortunes of many Americans go, so goes Walmart, so goes the economy.”

That’s what The Associated Press once noted.

Arguably, Walmart is one of the world’s most important economic indicators.  

It’s a proxy for the health of the consumer and the global economy, if you will, an economic bellwether that accounts for nearly 10% of retail spending in the U.S.

So, when we saw another quarter of strong growth for the retailer, it was a safe bet that the health of U.S. consumers is still ok.

In fact, the company just beat Street estimates for sales and profits. It also forecast solid guidance. As noted by CNBC:

“Walmart said it now expects sales to rise by 3.75% to 4.75% for the full year, and adjusted earnings to come in between $2.35 and $2.43 per share.It previously said it expected to be on the high end or slightly above its initial full-year guidance, which called for net sales growth of 3% to 4% and adjusted earnings per share of between $2.23 and $2.37.”

In its most recent quarter, adjusted EPS of 67 cents beat by two cents. Revenue of $169.34 billion was also better than expectations of $168.83 billion. 

Up about $4.71 on the day, WMT last traded at $73.16 a share on a volume spike to 30.5 million shares, as compared to its daily average volume of 16.05 million shares.