Wall Street was expecting a robust performance from massive retailer Walmart (NYSE: WMT), but the company nevertheless managed to outstrip their hopes with the third-quarter 2020 earnings report it issued Tuesday morning. The discount department store and grocery chain not only beat expectations on earnings per share (EPS) and revenue, but also on growth in comparable sales, or comps, and e-commerce expansion. According to the earnings report, Walmart's quarterly revenue jumped 5.2% year over year, reaching $134.7 billion. Earnings per share rose 15.5% over Q3 2019 to $1.34 per share. Zacks Equity Research reports these metrics represent positive surprises above analyst consensus predictions of 1.3% and 12.6%, respectively. Image source: Getty Images. Comps also beat expectations, with Walmart U.S. comps rising by 6.4% and Sam's Club comps extending into double digits at 11.1% growth. Wall Street analysts anticipated 5.9% comps growth. Important drivers included food, health and wellness, and general merchandise sales. E-commerce predictably prospered during the ongoing fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, even while COVID-19 cases fell in many areas during the warm late-summer months. The company says e-commerce showed "strong results across all channels," soaring 79% year over year and contributing 570 basis points to overall comps growth. Walmart has been shifting strategically toward online sales while reducing sub-optimal brick-and-mortar commitments, including selling off its Japanese Seiyu supermarket stake at a $2 billion non-cash loss. At the same time, it's working to become more competitive by branching out into new markets such as pet care, insurance, and its Walmart+ subscription service. Amazon, however, remains a powerful e-commerce competitor and dominates the third-party seller marketplace, potentially setting an eventual limit on Walmart's e-commerce gains that might be lower than some investors hope. 10 stocks we like better than Walmart Inc.When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Walmart Inc. wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of October 20, 2020 John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Rhian Hunt has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and recommends the following options: short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon and long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source