Another quarter, another round of international growth at Walmart. The retail giant beat Wall Street’s expectations with a 3.6 per cent increase in Q2 earnings to $3.59bn on a 2.8 per cent boost in total revenues to $103bn, and the company raised its full-year profit forecast.

Once again, Walmart’s international segment - which Morningstar analysts estimate accounts for a quarter of total revenues – shone. Overseas sales growth easily outpaced US sales, surging 7.3 per cent to $25bn, excluding the impact of local currency appreciation against the dollar. Net sales in the US remained flat in the quarter.

“Walmart International continues to be an impressive growth engine,” Mike Duke, chief executive, said on a conference call with analysts, while “as expected, Walmart US had a challenging second quarter.”