Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Announces Earnings Results

21 May 2026, 12:20 by Amy Steele · The Cerbat Gem

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart updated its FY 2027 guidance to 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance to 0.720-0.740 EPS.

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

Walmart beat Q1 expectations, with constant-currency sales up nearly 6% and e-commerce growing 26%, while management reiterated full-year guidance and said sales growth is tracking toward the upper end of the range.
Traffic and transaction growth accelerated in both Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club, supported by everyday low prices, roughly 7,200 rollbacks, and strong general merchandise performance, especially fashion and beauty.
Higher-margin businesses are scaling quickly: advertising grew more than 30% enterprise-wide, membership fee revenue rose 17%, and marketplace sales in the U.S. grew nearly 50%, helping improve the company’s profit mix.
Delivery speed and AI capabilities continue to expand, with more than 60% of U.S. households now reachable in 30 minutes or less and Sparky usage surging, which management says is boosting order values and customer engagement.
Fuel costs remain a meaningful headwind, reducing Q1 operating income by about $175 million, and management warned that if elevated fuel prices persist, retail price inflation could rise in the second quarter and second half.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $8.76 on Thursday, reaching $122.09. 14,130,956 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,728,637. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.91 and a 200 day moving average of $119.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart has a 52 week low of $93.43 and a 52 week high of $135.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $973.20 billion, a PE ratio of 44.56, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total value of $1,600,725.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at $83,821,522.52. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at $65,082,852. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 154,065 shares of company stock valued at $19,281,401 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. now owns 216,793 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $22,343,000 after buying an additional 10,525 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Walmart by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in Walmart by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $138.88.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Walmart

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted first-quarter revenue of about $177.8 billion, above estimates, while EPS of $0.66 matched expectations, showing the core business remains resilient. Walmart press release
Positive Sentiment: Growth in e-commerce, advertising, and membership fees suggests Walmart’s higher-margin businesses are continuing to scale and support longer-term earnings power. Walmart revenue growth article
Positive Sentiment: Analysts had already been raising price targets ahead of earnings, reflecting optimism about Walmart’s scale, omnichannel strength, and defensive appeal in a softer consumer environment.
Neutral Sentiment: Same-store and sales trends were generally healthy, with grocery and online demand helping offset more cautious discretionary spending by shoppers.
Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s second-quarter guidance came in below Wall Street expectations, and its full-year EPS and revenue outlook also missed consensus, which is the main reason the stock is falling. Walmart falls on guidance despite beating revenue estimates
Negative Sentiment: Management’s cautious outlook appears tied to high gas prices and pressure on U.S. consumers, raising concerns that spending could weaken in the coming quarters.

About Walmart

(Get Free Report)

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.