Walmart will report earnings on Tuesday before the bell, as investors and economists look for clues about how U.S. consumers are enduring inflation — and whether they have begun to pull back on spending.

According to Refinitiv consensus estimations, here’s what Wall Street thinks about the first quarter of fiscal 2012.

• Earnings per share: $1.48 expected
• Estimated revenue: $138.94 million

Walmart is the largest national retailer. Its sales reflect wider economic trends as well as consumer sentiment. Walmart said that Covid-19 was available for Americans who received their first vaccines one year ago. saw a pop in sales of items related to personal care, celebration and travel,New clothes and teeth whitening. Watchers in the industry will be looking out for indications that customers are switching to lower-priced brands or packs with fewer items, as well as skipping on discretionary goods like clothes and electronics.

Walmart’s earnings reports coincide with another closely-watched indicator. On Tuesday morning, the government will release April retail sales figures. Steph Wissink is a Jefferies retail analyst and said the fresh data will offer markets “measuringstick” information.

She said that Walmart has a significant impact on American consumers. “It has an extremely strong pulse on a segment of consumers that tends be the most sensitive.”

Inflation remains at a near four-decade high. The consumer price indexThe Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the price index, which is a measure of both goods and services prices, rose 8.3% to April from a year ago.

One of Walmart’s most important sales categories is Groceries. According to the unadjusted data of BLS, food costs increased 9.4% in April over a 12-month period.

Gas costs have also shot up to a national average of $4.483 per gallon as of Monday, according to AAA — with prices even higher on the West Coast and in the Northeast. The Russian war in Ukraine caused gas prices to rise noticeably in March.

As Walmart shoppers choose Walmart for their value and reputation, inflation will likely lead to increased sales, according to Chris Horvers of J.P. Morgan. But, it is possible for the discounter to face risks in the long-term if the lower income households only buy necessities, or if the company must make a profit to keep the prices down.

He stated that Walmart was in an era when it is gaining market share. “If the environment continues the way it is, you’re going to have to see Walmart start investing in price and at the same time, you could have — for the bottom of the [income] funnel — loss around the more discretionary categories as well as some of the consumers trade out of Walmart into the dollar store channel.”

Walmart shares closed Monday closing at $148.21 Walmart shares closed Monday at $148.21. This is a better performance than the wider market, which has seen the stock rise 2.5% this year. Investors are looking for consumer staples amid economic uncertainty. Nearly $408 billion is the company’s total market capital.

This is a developing story. Keep checking back for more updates.