Wal-Mart said Friday it will close 269 stores across the globe, including 154 in the U.S. The world's largest retailer also will open as many as 405 stores globally in the coming fiscal year, as it shifts its focus toward Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets in profitable locations.
In all, 16,000 employees will be impacted by the store closings, about 10,000 of whom are in the U.S.
What's Wal-Mart's stock doing now? Click here.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Schick told investors that Wal-Mart's thoughtful review of its real estate portfolio is evidence it's undergone an "evolution" in its approach toward physical stores, as it aims to reposition the business longer term.
"Net net, we like these developments and see them as part of increasing focus on quality (versus quantity) of Wal-Mart operations," Schick said.