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The world's biggest company by revenues gave a cautious outlook for the U.S. economy as a whole, but said its earnings in the current quarter should be largely in line with analysts' expectations.

"I don't think consumer spending is slowing, but I also don't see the strength that many of you in the investment community appear to see," Lee Scott, president and chief executive officer, said on a recorded message.

"We're still seeing a cautious customer who is buying at opening price points and who is timing their expenditures around the receipt of their paychecks, indicating liquidity issues," Scott said. Opening price points are the lowest price in any given category.

For the fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 31, Wal-Mart said earnings from continuing operations rose to $2.0 billion, or 46 cents per share, from $1.8 billion, or 40 cents per share, a year earlier.

Results for both periods exclude McLane Co., the grocery distribution business that Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart sold in May.

Analysts, on average, were expecting Wal-Mart to earn 47 cents per share, according to Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.

Wal-Mart had said in late September it expected earnings in the range of 45 cents to 47 cents per share, and told analysts not to raise their forecasts even though sales had outpaced company and analyst expectations.

NO CALCULATOR REQUIRED

Scott noted that Wal-Mart had said repeatedly that earnings would likely hit the middle of the company's forecast, and chided analysts for not adjusting their estimates accordingly.

"It shouldn't have taken a calculator to come to the conclusion that 46 cents per share was the most likely outcome for the quarter," he said on the recorded message.

Wal-Mart said quarterly sales rose 13.1 percent to $62.5 billion. Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year -- a key retail gauge known as same-store sales -- rose 6.1 percent.

Wal-Mart's August and September sales were stronger than expected, helped by government tax credits that spurred back-to-school spending. However, the pace slowed in October, and Wal-Mart expects only a modest year-over-year improvement in holiday sales.

The retailer said operating profit at its Wal-Mart stores segment rose 10.9 percent to $2.97 billion. At Sam's Club, quarterly operating profit rose 12.5 percent to $270 million, continuing a year-long turnaround that has put the focus back on small business customers instead of individual shoppers.

The fast-growing international segment recorded operating profit of $564 million, up 28.5 percent from a year ago.

For the fourth quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season, Wal-Mart expects earnings per share in the range of 63 cents to 65 cents, compared with analysts' consensus estimate of 65 cents.