“in our noncontrolling interest line, we expect an approximate $0.12 EPS headwind related to acquiring full ownership of Massmart and Alert Innovation as well as the impacts to minority interest of strong expected performance at Walmex.”

Why this grade

Management revised the expected FY24 NCI EPS headwind upward from approximately $0.12 to approximately $0.20 before the original estimate came due, worsening the expected drag on EPS by about 8 cents.

Deviation basis: percent increase in the guided EPS headwind, from $0.12 to $0.20 (unfavorable since a larger headwind is worse)

In context

“gregate amount. We'll commit to providing updates as we go through the year. With sales growth expected at a lower rate versus the prior year and our commitment to continuing to invest in our people and technology, we expect SG&A to delever slightly in FY '24. There are also several below-the-line items that will pressure EPS for FY '24. First, interest expense is estimated to be about $750 million higher than last year. This translates to an approximate $0.20 year-over-year EPS headwind with Q1's impact less than the remaining quarters. Second, we do not expect a repeat of the benefit we realized from certain discrete tax items last year, and as such, expect our tax rate to be more normalized in FY '24 at 25.5% to 26.5%, resulting in an approximate $0.10 EPS headwind. And lastly, in our noncontrolling interest line, we expect an approximate $0.12 EPS headwind related to acquiring full ownership of Massmart and Alert Innovation as well as the impacts to minority interest of strong expected performance at Walmex. In total, these below-the-line factors account for approximately $0.42 of year-over-year EPS headwind. The impact from these below-the-line items offsets the gains we're making in our core business, resulting in EPS being slightly down for the year. We expect full year EPS of between $5.90 and $6.05, including a $0.14 headwind from LIFO. For the first quarter, we expect to see a higher rate of sales growth of 4.5% to 5%, largely due to inflation. We expect operating income to increase 3.5% to 4%, including the negative impact of a LIFO charge of approximately 235 basis points. EPS is expected to be in a range of $1.25 to $1.30, including an approximate $0.03 headwind from LIFO. While we're not providing quarterly guidance beyond Q1, I want to offer the following perspective. We curr”