Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07, Zacks reports. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart updated its Q3 2027 guidance to 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance to 2.800-2.870 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Walmart’s conference call:

• Walmart raised its full-year guidance, increasing sales growth expectations to 4%-5%, operating income growth to 7%-8.5%, and adjusted EPS to $2.80-$2.87, reflecting confidence in sustained market-share gains.
• The company delivered broad-based momentum, including 5% constant-currency sales growth, 23% global eCommerce growth, 38% advertising growth, 52% U.S. Marketplace growth, and nearly 17% membership-income growth.
• Walmart said its digital businesses are becoming more profitable, with Walmart U.S. eCommerce generating double-digit incremental margins in the first half, supported by advertising, membership, delivery density, fulfillment services, and automation.
• Results and near-term profitability benefited materially from tariff refunds, while Walmart is reinvesting much of the benefit into lower prices; management expects Q3 operating income growth to moderate to 2%-4% as these investments flow through.
• Higher fuel prices are expected to add more than $2 billion in costs this year, while Maximum Fair Price drug regulations are now projected to create a roughly 125-basis-point headwind to Walmart U.S. full-year comparable sales.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $103.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $825.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Walmart has a 12-month low of $95.42 and a 12-month high of $135.15.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.94 billion, beating consensus estimates of $0.74 and $186.62 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 5.9% year over year. Walmart earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth businesses remain strong: global e-commerce sales rose 23%, advertising revenue increased 38%, and global membership revenue grew 17%. These trends support the long-term investment case despite slower core-store growth. Walmart second-quarter highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart plans to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to help lower prices, potentially strengthening its value proposition as consumers become more budget-conscious. The rollout of tap-to-pay, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, may also improve checkout convenience. Walmart tap to pay rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts retained bullish ratings—including buy, outperform, and overweight—but lowered price targets after the earnings release. New targets range from $120 to $140, indicating analysts still see meaningful upside but have moderated their expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, below expectations near 3.5%, marking Walmart’s weakest domestic comparable-sales growth in more than six years. Analysts cited weakness in health and wellness and questioned the trajectory of the core U.S. business.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance fell short of consensus: Walmart projected adjusted EPS of $0.62–$0.64 versus $0.68 expected and revenue of $183.1–$184.5 billion versus $188.2 billion expected. The timing of Flipkart’s promotional event is also expected to reduce quarterly sales growth by more than 100 basis points.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s elevated valuation increases sensitivity to any slowdown, while higher energy costs and consumer trade-offs are raising broader concerns about the health of U.S. retail spending.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,990,692 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,575,541,000 after acquiring an additional 93,459 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Walmart by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,413,236,000 after acquiring an additional 4,004,277 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,602,359 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,738,321,000 after acquiring an additional 114,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,373,333 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,378,513,000 after purchasing an additional 710,161 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $130.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Evercore set a $125.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 target price (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Walmart to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.