World's largest retailer Wal-Mart profits rise 23%
Thanks to strong growth in its discount stores Wal-Mart beat Wall Street expectaions according to this AP story in the New York Times (registration required):
The world's largest retailer said Wednesday it earned $1.82 billion, or 41 cents per share, in the three months ended Oct. 31 compared with $1.48 billion, or 33 cents per share, a year ago.
...Revenue rose to $59.33 billion from $53.19 billion in the year-ago period, which included the economic effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
...The company has 3,371 domestic stores, and 1,227 internationally. Wal-Mart has 1.3 million employees, in the United States and abroad.