The second quarter's earnings season has been hit-and-miss thus far for the broader market, with poor guidance doing more damage than last quarter's results. Although not quite in dire straits, consumers and corporations alike are clearly watching their spending.

This mindful spending is a big reason discount retailer (NYSE: WMT) did so well in Q2 -- the company offers much-needed low prices. Revenue was up 5.4% year over year on a constant-currency basis for the three-month stretch ending in July, while same-store sales in the U.S. improved to the tune of 6.4%. Operating income was up 17.3%, and adjusted earnings of $1.84 per share is a healthy improvement on the year-ago comparison of $1.77. That growth says the company isn't completely powerless when it comes to combatting inflation.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Walmart's second-quarter numbers, though, is one of the numbers nobody's really talking about. That's its advertising business, made possible by the growing number of visitors to Walmart.com. Ad revenue grew by 35% year over year.

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Source Fool.com