But results were still in line with expectations and the company reiterated its guidance for the year. The company's stock fell 42 cents to $44.68 in pre-market trading.

For the quarter ended July 31, the company posted net income of $2.08 billion, or 50 cents per share, down from $2.81 billion, or 67 cents per share, a year ago. That includes a hefty $863 million charge related to the sale of its German stores to rival Metro AG.

The last time Wal-Mart saw quarterly profit fall was in 1996. But the decline this time is based on a one-time event the German sale and profit was up after setting aside operations in Germany and South Korea that are being discontinued,

Excluding South Korean and German stores, the sales of which are both pending, Wal-Mart's income from continuing operations grew 5 percent to $2.98 billion, or 72 cents per share, from $2.85 billion, or 68 cents per share, a year ago.

The earnings results were in line with Wall Street expectations for profit of 72 cents per share, though revenue came in below the $86.24 billion consensus estimate.

Revenue totaled $85.43 billion, an increase of 11.4 percent from the $76.69 billion posted a year ago.

Wal-Mart Stores last month said it was pulling out of Germany after racking up losses since it started there in 1998. The move came two months after leaving South Korea in what analysts welcomed as a move to focus resources on expanding in more profitable international markets like China and Latin America.