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Walmart is embracing agentic commerce with the launch of its own Agent Gateway to manage transactions and other new features aimed at customers using AI agents, the retailer announced on Wednesday. The move comes shortly after Walmart’s top competitor, Amazon, began blocking AI agents from making purchases on behalf of online shoppers.

The company’s embrace of AI technology differentiates it from other online businesses, including not only Amazon but also various travel and booking sites, which have responded to the growing consumer adoption of AI agents by locking them out of their websites completely. Walmart, on the other hand, had already announced a partnership with a leading agent in the space, Meta’s Muse, and offers integrations with popular AI apps like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others.

Now, it’s expanding on those efforts with more technology to prepare for a world where AI agents become mainstream, said Walmart President and CEO John Furner, speaking at the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday. The technology will support agentic shopping from both Walmart and the company’s discount warehouse, Sam’s Club.

It starts with Walmart’s Agent Gateway, the company’s new MCP server, which is designed to help approved agents connect to Walmart over the model context protocol (MCP). The protocol, originally created by Anthropic, allows AI agents to connect to external data sources, tools, and other workflows. In this case, it lets an AI agent search across Walmart’s online inventory and make purchases on behalf of the agent’s user.

What’s more, the retailer says that its Agent Gateway will be able to help customers shop for their usual brands or items without having to share their personal information or purchase history directly with the agent.

The company has also developed new technology to differentiate an agent’s purchases from those initiated directly by the customer, and to give shoppers more control over what their agents can and cannot do.

With Agent Profiles, rolling out next month, customers will be able to authorize each AI agent they use with a dedicated profile in their account, allowing them to see the agent’s purchases separately from their own. Plus, customers will be in control of how purchases get approved by either requiring approval for each transaction or by authorizing transactions within a certain spending limit they set.

The retailer says these controls are similar to adding someone as an authorized user on your credit card, where their transactions are identified, and you can cap their spending.

The Agent Profiles will be created the first time you use a given agent to shop through the Walmart Agent Gateway, the company notes. To get started, you’ll authorize and link the Agent Profile to your Walmart account, then set your controls or spending limits. You can also delete an Agent Profile at any time. Agent support is available for anyone with a Walmart account; a Walmart+ membership is not necessary.

Alongside these technologies, Walmart is introducing special “terms” for AI agents, which specify how they must operate and what rights they have to transact on its site. Of note, Walmart says that its returns process applies, including when an agent doesn’t act as intended. That’s a customer-friendly condition that could sway consumers who were worried about being an early tester of agentic commerce, as they won’t fear ending up with products they don’t want because of a misbehaving agent.

Walmart also says that agents can’t take actions beyond what the shopper intends, can’t access the customers’ payment information, and can only access the information they need for the given task. Agents that don’t comply with the terms will be blocked from accessing Walmart’s site.

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Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.

You can contact or verify outreach from Sarah by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at sarahperez.01 on Signal.

Walmart (WMT - Free Report) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.

Shares of this world's largest retailer have returned +10.5% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.7% change. The Zacks Retail - Supermarkets industry, to which Walmart belongs, has gained 10.9% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?

Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.

Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.

We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

Walmart is expected to post earnings of $0.64 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +3.2%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +0.2%.

The consensus earnings estimate of $2.88 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +9.1%. This estimate has changed +0.1% over the last 30 days.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $3.22 indicates a change of +12.1% from what Walmart is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has remained unchanged.

Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, Walmart is rated Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Projected Revenue GrowthEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.

For Walmart, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $186.46 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +3.9%. For the current and next fiscal years, $751.49 billion and $783.59 billion estimates indicate +5.4% and +4.3% changes, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryWalmart reported revenues of $187.94 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +5.9%. EPS of $0.81 for the same period compares with $0.68 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $186.26 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +0.9%. The EPS surprise was +10.96%.

The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.

ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.

Comparing the current value of a company's valuation multiples, such as its price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), to its own historical values helps ascertain whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, whereas comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of how reasonable its stock price is.

As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

Walmart is graded D on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Walmart. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

Flipkart, the Walmart-owned Indian e-commerce giant, is preparing to challenge India’s food-delivery duopoly of Zomato and Swiggy. It is entering a fiercely competitive market that has defeated even previous attempts by Amazon and Google to break in.

The Bengaluru-based company is testing its food-delivery service internally and has expanded the trial from a few hundred employees to upwards of 8,000, according to two people familiar with the matter. It has also deployed a dedicated fleet of riders through its logistics arm, Ekart, separate from the riders who handle its quick-commerce deliveries, as it prepares for a public launch.

The employee-only service appears as a separate tab on Flipkart’s main shopping app, alongside its Minutes quick-commerce offering and travel bookings, TechCrunch has learned. It draws on restaurants listed through ONDC, a government-backed network that connects online buyers and sellers across different platforms, as well as restaurants that Flipkart signed up directly.

Riders wearing jerseys bearing the “Eat-in by Minutes” branding have also begun fulfilling orders on the streets of Bengaluru, the southern Indian city where Flipkart is headquartered.

As Flipkart expands its food-delivery operations, it is entering a market that the brokerage firm Bernstein estimates is growing 18% to 20% a year. Online delivery, though, still accounts for just over 15% of India’s broader food-services industry. Zomato, owned by Eternal, and Swiggy together serve an estimated 85 million to 95 million paying customers a year, per Bernstein. That figure shows how dominant the two are, and how much room newcomers have to grow online food ordering in the world’s most populous country, which has more than a billion internet subscriptions.

Flipkart is not the only company trying to shake up India’s food-delivery market. Ride-hailing company Rapido, which has already given Uber and its Indian rival Ola a tough fight, has been expanding Ownly, its food-delivery service that charges restaurants zero commission. Meanwhile, Swiggy has launched Toing, a separate app aimed at customers looking for cheaper meals. Both moves reflect growing pressure on the industry’s existing pricing model and the commissions that restaurants pay.

“Monopoly is bad, but duopoly is more pathetic,” said Sagar Daryani, president of the New Delhi-headquartered National Restaurant Association of India, which represents over 500,000 restaurants nationwide. “What one does, the other follows suit.”

Daryani argued that restaurants have long needed alternatives to the two dominant platforms.

Flipkart is not the first deep-pocketed company to try breaking into India’s food-delivery market. In 2020, Amazon launched a food-ordering service in Bengaluru, but it shut the service down two years later. Google’s Areo app, which offered food ordering alongside other services, also failed to gain traction. Uber also left the market in 2020, selling its Uber Eats business in India to Zomato.

Daryani sees one important difference between Flipkart and the companies that tried food delivery before it. Zomato and Swiggy built their businesses around delivering meals before expanding into quick commerce. Flipkart is doing the reverse, using its established e-commerce business and growing quick-commerce operations as a springboard into food delivery.

“Flipkart’s quick commerce benefit will get passed on to food delivery, so it will be leaner, more efficient,” Daryani told TechCrunch.

Restaurants are also hoping that new entrants will bring down the cost of selling meals online. Daryani, also co-founder and CEO of the dumpling chain Wow! Momo Foods, said Flipkart has proposed a base commission of about 10%, compared with the 20% to 25% that restaurants typically pay Zomato and Swiggy.

Commissions are only part of the expense, though. Once advertising, discounts, and other promotional costs are factored in, restaurants can end up spending 40% to 50% of an order’s value on the established platforms, Daryani told TechCrunch. He expects Flipkart to keep that total cost closer to 15% to 16%, which could mean restaurants keep more money from each order.

Nonetheless, getting restaurants on board is one thing and winning over customers is another. Bernstein estimates that new entrants could save customers just ₹20 to ₹30 (around 20–30 cents) per order by operating more efficiently, which may not be enough to draw customers away from Zomato and Swiggy. The two incumbents could also offer deeper discounts to keep them.

Flipkart is not planning to stay in Bengaluru for long. The company has told restaurants that it expects to launch its food-delivery service publicly by the end of October and to expand to five or six cities by the end of this year, Daryani told TechCrunch.

The food-delivery push also comes as Flipkart’s long-awaited stock-market listing remains uncertain. Chief Executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy (pictured above) recently declined to give a timetable for an IPO, even as the company continues to expand into businesses that could bring customers back to its app more frequently.

Flipkart’s expansion comes as competition in India’s e-commerce market intensifies. Quick-commerce platforms that started by delivering groceries in minutes now sell even the latest iPhones and other discretionary purchases, putting them in more direct competition with Flipkart and Amazon.

Flipkart did not respond to a request for comments.

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Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total transaction of $349,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 563,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,940,371.80. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Christopher James Nicholas also recently made the following trade(s):

On Thursday, September 17th, Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total transaction of $309,285.00. On Thursday, August 20th, Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total transaction of $308,386.00. Walmart Price Performance Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $118.81 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $942.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.89, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.58. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.88 and a 52 week high of $135.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $108.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.18.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year. Trending Headlines about Walmart Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank upgraded Walmart to Buy and raised its price target to $136 from $113. The bank cited a favorable 2027 outlook, inflation-driven customer traffic and growth opportunities in advertising, marketplace services and Walmart+ membership income. Walmart is a buy as inflation attracts more customers, says Deutsche Bank Positive Sentiment: Investors are increasingly valuing Walmart’s higher-margin revenue streams. The retailer’s global e-commerce sales rose 23% in the latest quarter, while marketplace, advertising and membership growth could improve profitability beyond its traditional low-price retail model. Walmart also raised fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.80-$2.87. Walmart Stock Gets an Upgrade as Analyst Sees More Room to Run Positive Sentiment: Expanded employee benefits may support Walmart’s long-term investment story. The company added more than 250 free prescription drugs and up to 12 weeks of paid NICU leave. While benefits could raise costs, Deutsche Bank viewed the move alongside fee-based growth as evidence Walmart is investing in employee retention and more profitable operations. How Benefit Expansion At Walmart Has Changed Its Investment Story Neutral Sentiment: Recent operating results remain solid. Walmart’s latest quarterly revenue increased 5.9% year over year to $187.94 billion, and EPS exceeded analyst expectations. Faster pickup, delivery and digital initiatives could further support holiday sales and Walmart+ engagement, though the stock’s elevated valuation limits room for disappointment. Can Walmart’s Faster Shopping Options Boost Holiday Sales Growth? Negative Sentiment: Rising costs remain a risk. Walmart and Target are facing pressure from higher operating and merchandise costs, which could squeeze margins if the retailers cannot pass expenses on to consumers. Walmart, Target Face a New Price Problem as Costs Surge Negative Sentiment: Several executives reported stock sales, including CEO John Furner. The transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans and executives retained substantial holdings, reducing their significance, but insider selling can still temper sentiment at recent highs. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. James T. Borello RIA purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $129,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9.7% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,784 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.7% in the third quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 11,309 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial & Tax Architects LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the third quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 76,784 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,979,000 after acquiring an additional 6,272 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.41.

View Our Latest Report on WMT

About Walmart (Get Free Report)

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.

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Walmart shed its trillion-dollar status after two brutal earnings reactions, but one Wall Street firm is betting the retailer's quiet transformation into a tech and media business could reward patient investors far beyond what the crowd expects.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT | WMT Price Prediction) is now priced at $118.81. The mean analyst target is $127.35, which puts the gap at about 7.2%.

The world’s largest retailer is turning itself into a tech and media business. Global eCommerce grew 23% last quarter and now makes up 24% of total net sales, while global advertising rose 38%. Those numbers are why bulls keep supporting the stock after two rough reactions to earnings.

The consensus gap is modest. The more interesting number is the Street-high $155.00 target from Ivan Feinseth at Tigress Financial Partners, pointing to a gain of about 30.5%.

Two Earnings Reactions Knocked Walmart Off Its Trillion-Dollar Peak The August earnings report did the most damage. Shares closed 9% lower, their biggest one-day drop since May 2022, after weak guidance and a big miss on same-store sales. On the surface the quarter looked solid. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.81, beating the $0.74 estimate. Investors focused on other numbers: third-quarter adjusted EPS guidance of $0.62-$0.64, Walmart U.S. comps of +2.6%, and net income that fell 9.4% year over year.

That drop came on top of an earlier one. Walmart peaked at about $135 in mid-May, when it was a member of the trillion-dollar club. It then fell after its May report even though sales and profit grew solidly. Management also plans to put tariff refunds back into lower prices in the second half, and pharmacy pricing legislation creates a roughly 125 bps comp drag. Shares are down 6.72% over six months.

Wall Street Still Sees a Tech and Media Retailer in the Making Of the 43 analysts covering the stock, 10 have a Strong Buy rating, 27 a Buy, 5 a Hold, and 1 a Strong Sell. Even so, the revisions have mostly gone down. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) kept its Overweight rating after August but cut its target to $125 from $137. Analyst Christopher Horvers argued that “the long-term share story via marketplace growth and alternative profit pool expansion was actually affirmed.”

Tigress bases its thesis on three points: high-margin advertising and fulfillment revenue, Walmart+ gains with higher-income households, and supply chain automation that brings down unit costs. The data backs part of that. Walmart Connect grew 43% excluding VIZIO, U.S. marketplace sales rose 52%, Walmart+ posted record net adds, and full-year adjusted EPS guidance moved up to $2.80-$2.87. The catch is price. A lot of that story is already in the stock at roughly 38 times forward earnings.

Costco and Target Held Up While Walmart Slipped Walmart fell mostly on its own. Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) is down just 0.57% over six months at $989.11. Its average target of $1066.06 implies about 7.8% upside, close to Walmart’s. Analysts are more divided on Costco, with 24 Buy or Strong Buy ratings, 13 Holds, and 2 bearish calls.

Target (NYSE:TGT) is up 20.51% over six months to $154.25. Its average target of $163.35 leaves about 5.9% upside, the least of the three. Holds lead with 21 ratings.

Costco narrowly has the largest consensus upside in the group, with Walmart just behind it. Walmart stands apart because a single firm projects 30% upside.

Walmart Trails the S&P 500 Despite a Sharp October Rebound At $118.81, Walmart sits between its 52-week low of $98.05 and its high of $134.84. The $127.35 consensus implies 7.2% upside across 43 analysts.

Walmart is up 7.32% year to date, while the S&P 500 is up 11.93%. Momentum has picked up recently. The stock gained 10.52% over the past month, compared with 1.22% for the index.

Walmart’s 30% Case Needs Ad Dollars to Outrun Price Cuts The bull scenario improves if advertising, marketplace and membership revenue keep growing fast enough to offset the reinvested tariff refunds and the pharmacy drag, and if U.S. comps pick up from 2.6%. Under those conditions the multiple holds and $155 becomes realistic.

The negative case gains weight if second-half operating income shrinks as refunds go back into prices and the lower-income consumer problem JPMorgan identified lasts longer. At a premium multiple, a stock that grows comps in the low single digits has room to keep falling.

The setup looks cautiously positive. The business is improving, but 7.2% consensus upside doesn’t cover much valuation risk. The next earnings report should show whether the high-margin businesses can carry the stock.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

A market signal that peaked as the financial system collapsed in 2008 is climbing again, and one economist says it points directly at what the Federal Reserve does next.

Economist Jim Paulsen says his “Walmart Recession Signal” is rising again. In 2008, as the stock market collapsed, the signal rose toward the highest level it has ever recorded. That same year, the top 25 hedge fund managers earned a combined $11.6 billion, or an average of $464 million each, according to Alpha, the Institutional Investor publication, down from a combined $22.5 billion in 2007, Financial Planning reported. The only link between the signal and what those managers earned is the year.

Paulsen, a former chief investment strategist at The Leuthold Group who retired in 2022, now writes Paulsen Perspectives. He says the signal is rising again since August.

How the Walmart Recession Signal Works
Paulsen defines the signal as the ratio of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT | WMT Price Prediction) stock to a group of stocks linked to wealthier consumers. The original version compared Walmart with the S&P 500 Retail index. Since July 2025, it has compared Walmart with the S&P Global Luxury Index. A rising signal means Walmart is outperforming that group. His reasoning is that lower-income households feel recessions first, and Walmart caters to them.

2008 Shows the Logic in Action
Walmart’s stock price rose about 18% in 2008, while the S&P 500 fell by more than a third. On October 28, 2008, Walmart rose 11%, its best day in 20 years, per Talk Business. That is the pattern the signal is designed to capture: shoppers trading down and investors moving toward value retail.

Rising Again Since August
In his March update, Paulsen said the signal was close to the highest level ever recorded, a level last seen during the financial crisis, according to Fortune. At the time, Fortune reported that Walmart’s stock was up over 40% from a year earlier at $123.95. The luxury index was up about 7.7% from a year earlier but down 13.6% since the start of 2026.

In his October 12 post, Paulsen said the signal has been rising again since August. Yahoo Finance’s summary of that post says Walmart has outperformed the luxury index by roughly 21% since August, and that Walmart shares are up about 8% from their late August low. Both figures are approximate.

Walmart’s own results fit the trade-down story. Its second-quarter fiscal 2027 release reported “share gains continued across categories and income tiers, led by upper-income households”, with revenue of $187.94B, up 5.9%. Walmart has named upper-income households as the leaders of its share gains in each of the past four quarterly reports. The stock traded at $118.59 on Friday, up 7.26% over the past week, after Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) said inflation is attracting more customers to the retailer.

What Paulsen Says It Means for the Fed
On the Excess Returns podcast on October 15, 2026, Paulsen said the signal is most useful as a guide to what the Fed may do. He called it imperfect and said it works “generally.” He said Walmart’s gains since mid-August suggests the Fed may have to pause before raising rates again, “or maybe even more than that.”

The Fed has been tightening. On September 17, 2026, it raised its target range, which had been 3.50% to 3.75%, to a new range of 3.75% to 4.00%, according to Federal Reserve data.

Paulsen expects real GDP to stay positive and the economy to avoid a recession this year. He also expects the S&P 500 to avoid a full bear market. He does see stress in the economy and the job market, along with the possibility of a “fairly nasty correction,” especially in newer high-flying stocks.

Where the Signal Falls Short
Paulsen himself calls the measure imperfect, and it can run well ahead of events. A rising reading has also not always arrived alongside a sharp jump in unemployment. Right now, the jobless rate stands at 4.2%, up from 4.1% in August. That is well below the 4.5% recorded last November. Retail sales rose 6.3% year over year in September. Consumer sentiment came in at 51.7 in August, which is low by historical standards.

What to Watch Next
Two things will show whether Paulsen’s reading holds up. One factor is whether Walmart continues outperforming luxury stocks. Also key is what the Fed does at its next meeting, after the September increase.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Key Takeaways Walmart's faster pickup and delivery options could boost holiday sales and strengthen customer loyalty.
Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales rose 24% in fiscal Q2, driven by 43% growth in store-fulfilled deliveries.
Express Pickup offers one-hour collection at 500 stores, with nationwide rollout planned before Thanksgiving.

Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) continues to strengthen its omnichannel retail capabilities to meet growing consumer demand for convenience, affordability and faster fulfillment. The retailer's investments in digital technology, store-based fulfillment and delivery infrastructure are helping improve shopping experiences and support market share gains. These capabilities could prove particularly valuable during the holiday season, when demand for convenient shopping and timely deliveries typically increases.

Against this backdrop, Walmart recently announced several shopping enhancements for the 2026 holiday season. The retailer is introducing Express Pickup, allowing customers to collect orders in as little as one hour. Currently available at 500 stores, the service is expected to expand nationwide ahead of Thanksgiving. Walmart+ members can access unlimited Express Pickup without additional fees, enhancing the membership program's appeal.

Walmart is also introducing Shop to Light, which helps shoppers locate merchandise through app-enabled shelf lighting. Meanwhile, its delivery options, including drone delivery, fulfillment within 30 minutes and scheduled services, provide greater flexibility. These initiatives could encourage more frequent purchases and help capture last-minute holiday spending.

The initiatives complement Walmart's strong digital momentum. In second-quarter fiscal 2027, Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales increased 24%, supported by approximately 43% growth in store-fulfilled deliveries. Deliveries completed within three hours accounted for roughly 37% of store-fulfilled orders. Walmart+ membership fee revenues also registered double-digit growth.

Walmart's expanding shopping options strengthen its ability to serve customers across different shopping occasions. By leveraging its extensive store network and faster fulfillment capabilities, the retailer could attract incremental holiday spending and deepen customer loyalty. Growing Walmart+ engagement may also support repeat purchases, reinforcing Walmart's competitive position and longer-term omnichannel growth prospects.

What Do the Latest Metrics Say About Walmart?Walmart, which competes with Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , has seen its shares gain 6.5% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 1.9%. Shares of Costco have climbed 2.5%, while Target has surged 70.8% in the aforementioned period.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 37.29, higher than the industry’s 32.74. The company is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 15.96) while trading at a discount to Costco (42.51). 
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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Walmart workers will have access to a broader set of health care benefits in 2027. Charles-McClintock Wilson/NurPhoto via Getty Images Walmart, America's largest private employer, said it will expand the health benefit options for its 1.6 million-strong workforce.

The retail giant said Tuesday that health plan participants will have several new benefits starting in 2027, including about 250 prescription drugs at no cost, including some insulin and inhalers.

A spokesperson also told Business Insider that associates with type 2 diabetes and new prior authorization will have coverage for GLP-1 medications.

That policy is similar to Starbucks, which recently cut back its coverage of the medications when they are prescribed for weight loss, though they may still be covered for other conditions. GLP-1 drugs have become highly sought-after treatments for obesity, but soaring costs are prompting some employers to limit eligibility.

Walmart's list of covered drugs also includes hemophilia medications and a multiple sclerosis drug, each of which can cost thousands of dollars per month, the spokesperson said.

Walmart US workers are getting some new health care benefits in the new year

In addition to the prescription benefits, Walmart is expanding its coverage of rare conditions to include no-cost access to specialists for evaluation and treatment review of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

And starting next month, Walmart employees will have access to 12 weeks of paid leave if their newborn needs admission to a neonatal intensive care unit. That NICU leave can be combined with up to 16 weeks of existing paid maternity and parental leave available to frontline workers.

Walmart's 2027 health plans start at $39.80 per pay period, a $1.50 increase from 2026, the spokesperson said. Full-time and part-time workers who average more than 30 hours per week are eligible to enroll.

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Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Dominick Reuter You're currently following this author! Click to unsubscribe from email alerts.

Dominick Reuter is a senior retail reporter for Business Insider, primarily covering Walmart, Target, Costco, and other big box retailers. His stories tend to focus on issues and trends that affect employees and customers, such as affordability challenges and the growing race to provide ultra-fast delivery services on e-commerce orders.Prior to joining BI in 2019, Dominick worked for more than a decade as an independent photojournalist covering a wide range of stories for global wire services and newspapers, including Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and Agence France-Presse.Dominick studied photojournalism at Boston University and later earned a Masters in business and economics journalism from Columbia University.If you're an employee or customer with a story to share, please contact me via email or text/call/Signal at 646-768-4750.

Walmart Health Care

Key Takeaways Walmart trades at 36.32X forward earnings, above the industry's 32.73X. Global e-commerce sales jumped 23% in Q2, while higher-margin businesses fuel Walmart's growth. Rising fuel costs and pricing investments pressure margins, favoring a cautious approach to WMT stock. Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) continues to command a premium valuation, reflecting investors' confidence in its resilient business model, expanding digital capabilities and improving profitability. However, the stock's elevated valuation raises questions about whether its growth prospects justify the premium.

WMT is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 36.32, exceeding the industry average of 32.73 and its five-year median of 25.20. This premium reflects investors' expectations of sustained earnings growth and successful execution of Walmart's omnichannel strategy. However, the elevated valuation also leaves limited room for earnings disappointments or operational setbacks.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Walmart also trades at a substantially higher valuation than Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) and Dollar General Corporation (DG - Free Report) , which currently command forward P/E multiples of 15.78 and 15.32, respectively. Meanwhile, Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) commands an even richer valuation at 41.55, highlighting the varying premiums investors are willing to pay for leading retailers.

What's Driving Walmart's Growth Momentum?Walmart's growth momentum is supported by its ability to combine everyday low prices with digital convenience, operational efficiency and expanding higher-margin businesses. Its extensive store network, competitive pricing and broad merchandise assortment continue to attract customers across income groups. The company's emphasis on affordability remains particularly relevant as consumers prioritize value amid ongoing economic pressures. Continued market share gains, especially in grocery and essential categories, highlight the resilience of its business model.

E-commerce remains a key growth catalyst, supported by faster fulfillment, marketplace expansion and increasing digital adoption. Walmart is leveraging its physical footprint to integrate stores with online operations, enabling convenient pickup and faster deliveries while improving fulfillment efficiency. Global e-commerce sales increased 23% in second-quarter fiscal 2027, underscoring sustained demand for its omnichannel offerings. Expanding delivery capabilities are also strengthening customer engagement and encouraging repeat purchases.

Walmart's growing ecosystem of higher-margin businesses, including advertising, marketplace services and membership programs, is another important strength. Walmart Connect, its third-party marketplace, and Walmart+ are creating additional revenue opportunities beyond traditional retail sales. These businesses are improving profitability, diversifying revenue streams and reinforcing customer loyalty.

Continued investments in automation, artificial intelligence and supply-chain modernization are enhancing productivity and inventory management. Walmart International and Sam's Club provide additional growth opportunities through digital expansion, membership gains and improving market penetration. Together, these initiatives support Walmart's competitive positioning and long-term earnings potential.

How Has WMT Stock Performed Against Its Peers?Shares of Walmart have gained 5.5% over the past year, outperforming the broader industry's 2.8% growth and the Zacks Retail – Wholesale sector's modest rise of 0.2%. 
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

However, the company has underperformed several prominent retail peers like Target and Dollar General while outpacing Costco. Over the past year, TGT and DG have delivered gains of 72.7% and 22%, respectively. Meanwhile, COST has advanced 1.4%, trailing WMT. The mixed performance suggests that although Walmart's fundamentals remain solid, its premium valuation has not translated into market-leading stock appreciation. Sustained earnings momentum may be necessary to justify further upside.

Walmart’s Near-Term ChallengesDespite its long-term strengths, Walmart faces several near-term challenges that could pressure profitability. Elevated fuel costs, aggressive pricing investments and rising operating expenses remain key concerns. Management expects more than $2 billion in incremental fuel-related costs in fiscal 2027, creating additional pressure on distribution and fulfillment expenses.

Walmart's focus on affordability, while supporting market share gains, could weigh on near-term margins. The company implemented more than 11,000 price rollbacks during the second quarter. Tariff-related refunds significantly benefited quarterly profitability, raising questions about the sustainability of the reported growth rate. Management expects third-quarter adjusted operating income growth of 2-4% in constant currency, reflecting continued price investments.

Higher depreciation, self-insurance costs and employee healthcare expenses also contributed to operating expense deleverage. Meanwhile, Walmart U.S. comparable sales growth moderated to 2.6%, partly due to pharmacy-related deflation associated with maximum fair price regulations. These pressures, combined with a premium valuation, could limit near-term stock upside.

What Do Earnings Estimates Indicate for WMT?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Walmart's current fiscal-year earnings per share has remained unchanged at $2.87 over the past 30 days, implying year-over-year growth of 8.7%. Similarly, the consensus estimate for the next fiscal year has held steady at $3.22, suggesting growth of nearly 12%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Should Investors Buy, Hold or Sell Walmart Stock Now?Walmart's strong market position, expanding digital ecosystem and growing higher-margin businesses provide a solid foundation for sustained growth. Its emphasis on affordability, convenience and operational efficiency continues to strengthen its competitive advantage. However, the elevated valuation, mixed stock performance and near-term cost pressures suggest that much of the optimism is already priced in. While Walmart remains fundamentally attractive, its current risk-reward profile favors a cautious approach. Existing shareholders may consider retaining their positions, while prospective investors could await a more favorable entry point.

WMT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Walmart’s multibillion-dollar push to replace human workers with robots is reportedly hitting snags as the machinery struggles to carry dog food and Thanksgiving turkeys or handle cardboard boxes.

A simple task called “breakpack” – when workers remove items from cardboard boxes to ship out individually – is easy for Walmart’s more than 140,000 warehouse workers, who also unload trucks, operate forklifts, sort and store goods on shelves, and send out shipments.

But it’s a challenge for the new warehouse robots, which are too small to carry and unload the same cardboard boxes, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

A Walmart fulfillment center in Illinois employs human workers and automation. Getty Images for Walmart It might sound like a simple fix – replace the boxes. And that’s what Walmart is planning to do. But the largest retail chain in the world has been using the same cardboard boxes for more than two decades, urging workers to reuse the boxes to save on costs. 

Now Walmart is planning to throw all those boxes – which cost an average of $1 each – in the trash, replacing them with new ones that are 1 ½ inches shorter and need to be taped closed, a new step that will cost more money, the report said. 

Philip McIlrath, the manager of an Indiana apparel warehouse using the new boxes, told the Journal it’s “a small change,” but for workers, “it’s changing their daily routine quite a bit.” He argued the new boxes will eventually reduce stocking time, which will lower labor costs.

Walmart did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

The small robots, which move on wheels through the warehouses using motion sensors, struggle to hold oversized or heavy items, like turkeys – a problem that emerged a few years ago just ahead of the Thanksgiving rush, the report said. 

Workers in a newly-automated grocery warehouse in California noticed that the machine’s robotic arms fumbled large frozen turkeys. It required a shift to nearby grocery warehouses, which helped with turkey shipments to physical stores.

A Bossa Nova robotic scanning device at a Walmart Supercenter in Arkansas in 2018. Getty Images The Brooksville warehouse in Florida, Walmart’s automation test site, is now nearly “fully automated,” according to Rob Montgomery, the head of supply-chain operations at Walmart US overseeing the automation of nearly 200 locations.

About 80% of inventory at Brooksville is moved using automation. But the robotics are still struggling to manage the remaining 20%, which includes heavy objects like large-screen TVs and dog food. 

Another issue plaguing the automation rollout is the robots’ finicky tech issues. The bots – made by Symbotic, a Massachusetts robotics company – frequently break down or need maintenance, even from something as minor as dust buildup, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Walmart expects warehouses to eventually require fewer human workers, cutting down costs. Felipe Sanchez – stock.adobe.com Symbotic said less than 10% of the robots were being fixed at any given time last year, and that percentage has since dropped to about 5%.

“We are kind of in this peak complexity,” Montgomery told the Journal.

In the meantime, automation has driven costs higher, with monthly electric bills at automated grocery facilities reaching $800,000 or more – up from roughly $250,000 a month when operations were mostly manual, the Journal reported, citing an anonymous source.

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Walmart expects its spending on automation to peak this year and next, but it also believes the new tech will eventually require fewer warehouse workers, cutting down costs; process more inventory at a faster pace; and limit the frequency of out-of-stock goods.

The company said it will still need human workers for some tasks, like unloading trailers, as well as to work on the robotic systems.

Company executives also said layoffs won’t be necessary because warehouses have such high job turnover.

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A Walmart employee pulls an online order fulfillment cart at a store in Wisconsin. Dominick Reuter/Business Insider The push-and-pull continues for Walmart's online order picking teams.

The retail giant has reversed an earlier policy that reduced the number of bins workers haul on specialized carts, which was first reported by Business Insider in May and intended to improve visibility and safety. Under that guidance, workers were told to push carts unless they could not safely see ahead.

The online fulfillment carts are a key piece of equipment that Walmart store employees use to gather the items shoppers order for pickup or delivery.

Four Walmart employees in three states recently told Business Insider that their store leaders instructed their teams to return to hauling eight bins on their fulfillment carts and that they are now supposed to pull the carts rather than push them. Business Insider also observed the practice during a visit to a supercenter in Wisconsin on Tuesday.

A Walmart spokesperson confirmed the policy change, saying it followed a period of testing and evaluation. Reducing the bin load over the summer allowed the company to identify ways to improve the online order fulfillment process, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said the company's safety policies, which require workers to maintain control of their carts and a line of sight ahead, have not changed.

"Safety of associates and customers is absolute," the spokesperson said.

The original policy change in May came about after a short-lived April attempt to require the pulling of eight-bin carts. The requirement was widely criticized by workers for contributing to injuries and strains, such as twisted shoulders and wrists, clipped heels and ankles, and bodily collisions when a heavily loaded cart proves difficult to stop.

"This update supports a safer environment for associates and customers while helping make Walmart the best and safest place to shop and work," a memo at the time said.

A store employee pulls an order fulfillment cart through a Walmart store.  Dominick Reuter/Business Insider The issue reveals a tension for Walmart as it navigates the balance between accelerating e-commerce operations and maintaining a safe environment for workers and customers. The company relies on its US fleet of more than 4,600 stores to fulfill the bulk of its online orders, and individual locations may handle several hundred online orders per day.

As the holiday shopping season starts to pick up steam, Walmart on Wednesday introduced a new express pickup option for customers to order items in the Walmart app for curbside collection in as little as one hour, in addition to its increasingly fast delivery options.

A worker in Texas said that when her manager saw her pushing her cart as specified by prior guidance, she was escorted off the sales floor into an office, where she was told that "some people may have to get transferred out" if they are unable to pull carts. The worker also said she has been unable to use her dominant hand to pull the cart behind her due to a wrist strain.

"Something that is so minor, you're not gonna go and complain, for the most part," she said.

Workers shared photographs of warning labels that say the carts should only be pushed, not pulled. Marketing materials from the cart's manufacturer show a comparable model with six bins that have a combined weight capacity of 240 pounds. The top surface is about 3.5 feet high and intended as a work area, the brochure says. With bins on top, the total height is about 5 feet, as measured by Business Insider.

A Walmart online order fulfillment cart.  Dominick Reuter/Business Insider Several workers told Business Insider that Walmart swapped out wheels on some carts to better position the cart's handle for pulling, but those changes have affected the carts' handling in some cases.

The spokesperson said Walmart did replace wheels to improve maneuverability when pulling the carts and to allow workers to adjust their position to maintain clear visibility.

Workers at a Michigan store said their colleagues have filed dozens of complaints to the state's occupational health and safety board over the issue. A response to one complaint said the agency was already investigating Walmart, according to a letter viewed and verified by Business Insider. Walmart declined to comment on the complaints or the investigation.

"I'm not willing to sacrifice my body and my health over this cart," a worker in Oklahoma told Business Insider.

Walmart has also faced multiple lawsuits in recent years involving customers who say they were injured by carts pushed by employees. Workers told Business Insider their managers attributed the changing cart policies to safety incidents at other Walmart US stores. Walmart declined to comment.

E-commerce sales are booming at Walmart. US digital sales were up 24% last quarter, including more than 40% growth of store-fulfilled deliveries and 20% growth in average weekly customers, CFO John David Rainey said in August. Last quarter was at least the ninth consecutive quarter of US e-commerce growth exceeding 20%.

A Walmart employee completes an online pickup order.  Dominick Reuter/Business Insider Fulfillment speed is also getting faster, with roughly 40 US markets now offering delivery times of less than 30 minutes. Walmart US CEO David Guggina said at a September conference that this assumes about 15 minutes to pick an order and 15 minutes to drive it from the store to the customer.

"If you shrink that pick time — because it's a smaller order or we make it more efficient to pick in our stores with digital shelf labels — then you can deliver faster or you can deliver further at the same speed, and that's coming to life." he said.

But that acceleration is increasing pressure on stores' fulfillment teams, who are tasked with picking items from shelves quickly, accurately, and safely, workers previously told Business Insider.

The Walmart spokesperson said worker feedback to the company has been positive about the latest changes, especially the higher capacity to gather more items during each walk.

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Dominick Reuter You're currently following this author! Click to unsubscribe from email alerts.

Dominick Reuter is a senior retail reporter for Business Insider, primarily covering Walmart, Target, Costco, and other big box retailers. His stories tend to focus on issues and trends that affect employees and customers, such as affordability challenges and the growing race to provide ultra-fast delivery services on e-commerce orders.Prior to joining BI in 2019, Dominick worked for more than a decade as an independent photojournalist covering a wide range of stories for global wire services and newspapers, including Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and Agence France-Presse.Dominick studied photojournalism at Boston University and later earned a Masters in business and economics journalism from Columbia University.If you're an employee or customer with a story to share, please contact me via email or text/call/Signal at 646-768-4750.

Walmart E-Commerce Delivery More Exclusive

Key Takeaways Walmart Connect grew 43% as U.S. e-commerce sales rose 24% in the fiscal second quarter. Advertising and membership revenues helped Walmart U.S. e-commerce achieve double-digit margin growth. Digital ad growth improved Walmart U.S. gross profit mix, while the Vibe deal expanded ad capabilities. Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) is seeing its digital business become a more meaningful contributor to its overall economics as e-commerce and related commerce solutions continue to expand. Advertising is playing an increasingly important role in that mix, supported by Walmart’s growing online business and broader digital platform capabilities.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, Walmart’s global advertising business increased 38%. Walmart U.S. advertising, including VIZIO, also rose 38%, while Walmart Connect grew 43%. The gains came alongside 24% growth in Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales, reflecting strength in store-fulfilled delivery, advertising and marketplace.

The profitability picture is also improving. Walmart U.S. e-commerce achieved double-digit incremental margins in the first half of fiscal 2027. Strong advertising and membership revenues contributed to that progress, along with greater delivery-network density, growth in fee-based fast deliveries and benefits from automation.

Advertising also supported Walmart U.S. business mix during the quarter. The company said a better business mix, primarily from growth in digital advertising, contributed to gross profit improvement. Walmart also expanded its advertising capabilities through the acquisition of Vibe, which provides self-service tools and enables advertisers to measure results against shopping behavior.

The second quarter shows that advertising is becoming a more important part of Walmart’s improving digital economics. Walmart Connect’s 43% growth, together with continued e-commerce expansion, supported the broader shift toward commerce solutions. Continued progress in these areas will remain important to Walmart’s ability to sustain the incremental-margin improvement already achieved in its U.S. e-commerce business.

What Do the Latest Metrics Say About Walmart?Walmart, which competes with Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , has seen its shares gain 1.8% over the past year compared with the industry’s breakeven performance. Shares of Costco have climbed 1%, while Target has surged 71.4% in the aforementioned period.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 33.82, higher than the industry’s 30.74. The company is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 15.68) while trading at a discount to Costco (40.03). 
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

BELVIDERE, NJ, Oct. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Edible Garden AG Incorporated (“Edible Garden” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: EDBL, EDBLW), a leader in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), organic and sustainable produce, and developer of the Zero-Waste Inspired® mission and Farm-to-Formula® platform, today announced that it has been awarded a new fresh herb program with Walmart for the upcoming Thanksgiving through New Year holiday season.

The new holiday program represents incremental business in addition to Edible Garden’s significant existing Walmart distribution and three recently awarded Walmart distribution centers, further expanding the Company’s relationship with one of the world’s largest retailers. Together, these awards strengthen Edible Garden’s position across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, strategically important markets where the Company believes the combination of Walmart’s substantial retail presence and Edible Garden’s growing fresh herb platform creates a meaningful opportunity to capture additional market share.

The holiday program is designed to meet increased consumer demand during one of the most important selling periods of the year for fresh herbs, as holiday cooking typically drives demand for many of Edible Garden’s core offerings, including rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley, and poultry-blend herbs. Edible Garden is working closely with Walmart on the holiday program across product assortment, production planning, packaging, merchandising, logistics, and replenishment, and preparations for the season are already underway.

To support the new program and the Company’s growing Walmart distribution footprint, Edible Garden plans to leverage its vertically integrated production facilities, strategically located contract grower network, advanced demand-planning capabilities, and proprietary GreenThumb 2.0 technology. Together, these capabilities are designed to provide the flexibility and dependable fulfillment required during periods of elevated demand.

“This award is particularly significant because it represents new business layered onto our already substantial Walmart distribution and follows three recent distribution center wins,” said Jim Kras, Chief Executive Officer of Edible Garden. “Collectively, these programs are strengthening Edible Garden’s position across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast and expanding our participation in some of Walmart’s most important markets. We believe that growing geographic alignment creates an opportunity for both Walmart and Edible Garden to capture additional fresh herb market share while providing consumers with fresher, locally sourced products.

“The Thanksgiving-through-New Year period is one of the most demanding periods of the fresh herb calendar, and our industry-leading fulfillment rate demonstrates our ability to execute at scale. We believe Walmart’s continued expansion of our programs validates the investments we have made in production, distribution, and GreenThumb technology, while deepening our relationship with Walmart and further establishing Edible Garden as a trusted, scalable supply-chain partner to major retailers.”

Edible Garden’s GreenThumb 2.0 platform, together with its network of Company-operated facilities and strategically located contract growers, is designed to more closely align production with anticipated retail demand. This data-driven, localized approach supports the Company’s Zero-Waste Inspired® strategy by helping maintain product freshness and availability while reducing food miles, excess inventory, and shrink throughout the supply chain.

Key Performance Indicator

This press release contains reference to the Company’s fulfillment rate, which is a key performance metric management uses to analyze and measure the Company’s financial performance and results of operation. Management uses fulfillment rate as a measure of current and future business and financial performance, and it may not be comparable with measures provided by other companies. The Company defines fulfillment rate as the percentage of orders filled in full, relative to the total number of orders received during the period.

ABOUT EDIBLE GARDEN®

Edible Garden AG Incorporated is a leader in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), delivering organic, better-for-you, sustainable produce and products through its Zero-Waste Inspired® next-generation farming model. Available in over 6,000 retail locations across the United States, Caribbean, and South America, Edible Garden is at the forefront of the CEA and sustainability technology movement, distinguished by its advanced safety-in-farming protocols, sustainable packaging, patented GreenThumb software, and innovative Self-Watering in-store displays. The Company operates state-of-the-art, vertically integrated greenhouses and processing facilities, including Edible Garden Heartland in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Edible Garden Prairie Hills in Webster City, Iowa; and its headquarters at Edible Garden Belvidere in New Jersey. It also partners with a network of contract growers strategically located near major U.S. markets to ensure freshness and reduce environmental impact. The Company is also expanding its Prairie Hills facility in Webster City, Iowa, into a dedicated ready-to-drink (RTD) clean nutrition manufacturing hub, supporting its Farm-to-Formula® strategy and its transformation into higher-margin, shelf-stable nutrition categories.

Edible Garden’s proprietary GreenThumb 2.0 software—protected by U.S. Patents US 11,158,006 B1, US 11,410,249 B2, and US 11,830,088 B2—optimizes vertical and traditional greenhouse growing conditions while aiming to reduce food miles. Its patented Self-Watering display (U.S. Patent No. D1,010,365) is designed to extend plant shelf life and elevate in-store presentation. In addition to its core CEA operations, Edible Garden owns three patents in advanced aquaculture technologies: a closed-loop shrimp farming system (US 6,615,767 B1), a modular recirculating aquaculture setup with automated water treatment and feeding (US 10,163,199 B2), and a sensor-driven ammonia control method utilizing electrolytic chlorine generation (US 11,297,809 B1).

The Company has been recognized as a FoodTech 500 firm by Forward Fooding, is a multi-year participant in Walmart’s Project Gigaton and a Giga Guru designee and has received NRG’s Excellence in Energy Award for its commitment to measurable environmental performance and energy stewardship. Edible Garden also develops and markets a growing line of nutrition and specialty food products, including Vitamin Way® and Vitamin Whey®—plant and whey protein powders—and Kick. Sports Nutrition, a premium performance line for health-conscious athletes seeking cleaner, better-for-you options. The Company’s offerings further include fresh, sustainable condiments such as Pulp fermented gourmet and chili-based sauces, as well as Pickle Party, a collection of fermented fresh pickles and krauts.

Learn more at https://ediblegardenag.com.
For Pulp products, visit https://www.pulpflavors.com.
For Vitamin Whey® products, visit https://vitaminwhey.com.
For Kick. Sports Nutrition products, visit https://kicksportsnutrition.net/.
Watch the Company’s latest corporate video here.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Words such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “expand,” “advance,” “designed to,” “opportunity,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s holiday fresh herb program with Walmart, the expected benefits of the Company’s recent Walmart distribution center awards, the Company’s ability to expand its presence and capture additional market share in its key markets, the Company’s available capacity and ability to service additional retail volume, the Company’s ability to deepen its relationship with Walmart and other major retailers, the development of the Company’s ready-to-drink manufacturing facility in Webster City, Iowa, and the Company’s Farm-to-Formula® strategy. There can be no assurance that the holiday program or the Company’s distribution center awards will result in the anticipated volume, revenue or market share gains. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied, including those described in the “Risk Factors” section and other sections of the Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no duty to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Contacts:
Crescendo Communications, LLC
212-671-1020
[email protected]

Walmart shares have shed nearly a quarter of their value from the 52-week high, yet one Wall Street strategist sees a path to gains that would dwarf the average analyst target. Here is what the bull case rests on and…

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Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT | WMT Price Prediction) trades at $104.26. The average analyst price target stands at $126.78, which means 21.6% upside.

Walmart runs the largest discount store chain in the U.S., plus Sam’s Club and fast-growing advertising, marketplace, and membership businesses. Tigress Financial’s Chief Investment Strategist Ivan Feinseth set a Street-high $155 target, means 48.7% upside.

A Strong Quarter Couldn’t Stop a 23% Slide From the High The selloff accelerated after second-quarter earnings when weak guidance outweighed strong results. Adjusted EPS of $0.81 beat the $0.74 consensus, and revenue rose 5.9%. Management guided third-quarter EPS to $0.62 to $0.64, below the prior $0.6834 estimate. The consensus has since fallen to $0.6352, with 29 downward revisions and no upward ones.

Three headwinds pressured guidance. Walmart expects more than $2 billion in extra fuel costs, new drug pricing rules are cutting about 125 basis points from U.S. comparable sales, and Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale creates a third-quarter headwind of more than 100 basis points.

Shares sit 22.7% below the 52-week high of $134.84 and below the 200-day moving average of $118.32. For a stock with a beta of 0.595 and a valuation near 38 times trailing earnings, that is a steep pullback.

Why the Street’s Biggest Bull Still Sees a Path to $155 Tigress says Walmart is becoming a higher-margin business. Global advertising grew 38%, Walmart Connect grew 43%, U.S. marketplace sales jumped 52%, and membership income rose 17%. Management said about half of operating profit growth came from these platform businesses.

E-commerce supports the efficiency side of the thesis. U.S. online sales grew more than 20% for the 10th consecutive quarter and posted double-digit incremental margins in the first half. Automated facilities now handle more than 50% of e-commerce fulfillment volume.

Analysts remain generally positive. The 43 covering analysts break down as follows:

Strong Buy: 10 Buy: 27 Hold: 5 Strong Sell: 1 Their numbers have been slipping, though. The EPS consensus for the fiscal year ending in January 2028 fell to $3.2255 from $3.2858 90 days ago. Over the past 30 days, analysts cut that estimate 25 times and raised it only 4 times. At that EPS, a $155 stock would trade at about 48 times forward earnings, versus about 32 times today. The near-term catalysts are the third-quarter report and market share gains from more than 11,000 price rollbacks, which are funded by about $2.9 billion in tariff refunds.

Walmart Fell While Target Held Its Gains The peer group held up while Walmart fell. Target (NYSE:TGT) is up 63.92% this year at $155.99. Its $164.68 target means just 5.6% upside, and Hold ratings lead with 22, while 12 analysts rate it Buy or Strong Buy and 4 rate it Strong Sell.

Walmart has the largest consensus upside in the group. That makes it the clearest case of a gap between the share price and analyst targets.

Walmart Sits Well Below Its Average Analyst Target At $104.26, Walmart stands 21.6% below the $126.78 average target set by 43 analysts. Price targets are estimates, and they can be wrong.

I Lean Toward Walmart, but $155 Is a Stretch Optimists get a boost if advertising, marketplace and membership keep growing faster than retail sales, and if the rollbacks lead to lasting share gains that lift fourth-quarter results. Risks grow if fuel costs and pharmacy deflation keep driving estimates lower, because a multiple near 32 times forward earnings leaves little room for cuts.

I lean bullish. Walmart raised full-year EPS guidance to $2.80 to $2.87 and still has $25.1 billion left in its buyback authorization. The consensus target looks reachable. Tigress’s $155 needs both earnings growth and a higher valuation, so it represents the best-case scenario.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart have begun checking security camera ​listings on their platforms in India after hundreds of unlicensed products were offered for sale despite strict government testing rules imposed six months ‌ago amid concerns about espionage risks.

The two e-commerce companies, which dominate online shopping in India, were reviewing internet-enabled surveillance cameras listed by third-party sellers and brands on their platforms after Reuters discovered the listings, two people familiar with the checks said. Any without government approval would be removed, the people said.

Amazon, in an email, declined to comment, while Flipkart did not respond to Reuters ​queries.

From roads to homes, security cameras have become ubiquitous across India, fuelling an industry worth $4.4 billion, but unapproved sales online are a "serious concern", said Gulshan ​Rai, who was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cybersecurity chief from 2015 to 2019.

"A compromised camera can become both a surveillance risk ⁠and a cybersecurity entry point," he told Reuters.

A Reuters analysis this week found more than 700 of roughly 770 internet security camera listings on Amazon and Flipkart were ​for models that were not on the Bureau of Indian Standards' public database of approved brands or cameras.

Since April, surveillance camera manufacturers have been required to submit hardware ​and software for testing to obtain certification from the standards bureau before they can sell their equipment in the world's most populous country.

The rules, first announced in 2024, reflect growing concern in New Delhi that sensitive footage could be transferred abroad. In April, the Delhi police said they had uncovered a Pakistan-linked spying network that used Chinese-made SIM-enabled CCTVs near military sites in northern India ​to send live footage to handlers in Pakistan.

Since Tuesday, at least a dozen listings have been removed from the e-commerce platforms, including at least two models from Hikvision's ​EZVIZ brand, which Amazon now shows as "currently unavailable".

Hikvision (002415.SZ) and Zhejiang Dahua Technology (002236.SZ) had 30% of the Indian security camera market, Counterpoint Research told Reuters last year. The companies did not respond ‌to Reuters ⁠requests for comment.

The Bureau of Indian Standards did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment about the listings.

'LIVE FOOTAGE FROM ANYWHERE'
Global e-commerce giants have often come under fire in India for having restricted products, including e-cigarettes, gender-test kits and banned wildlife products, listed on their platforms.

Reuters found at least eight unlicensed WiFi camera models from Hikvision and Dahua on Amazon. The US has barred its government agencies from buying some of their equipment over Beijing-related security concerns.

Other listings included Maizic Smarthomes, which describes itself ​as India's best-selling AI security brand. None ​of its 138 "wifi camera" offerings on ⁠Amazon, including some slotted inside bulbs, had an Indian approval, the standards bureau's website showed.

One listing sold by Maizic India on Amazon said its "Fish Eye Bulb WiFi 360 Degree Camera" connected to a WiFi network, "allowing you to stream live footage from anywhere ​in the world through your smartphone or tablet."

Maizic co-founder Santosh Kumar Singh told Reuters it had removed WiFi functionality that ​allowed live feeds from ⁠its cameras and the devices would only be enabled for direct connectivity with a nearby mobile device until it secured government approval.

ESPIONAGE RISK
In July, a confidential email reviewed by Reuters showed, Amazon told one of its sellers it was removing its camera listing for not having the necessary approval marks, following a complaint by Sujatha Thammadi, the standards bureau's head ⁠of registration.

Thammadi ​did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Hundreds of listings remained online as of Thursday.

One Dahua ​Wireless Dome Camera was listed on Amazon for 779 Indian rupees ($8.10) after a 70% discount. Dahua's popular brand Imou, meanwhile, has a dedicated page on Amazon India — with promotional videos, separate indoor and outdoor ​WiFi camera categories and a "Hot Selling" section.

One of the sources said Amazon had decided to remove the brand page.

Key Takeaways Walmart's global membership fee revenues rose 17% year over year in second-quarter fiscal 2027. Walmart posted double-digit U.S. growth, with record second-quarter net additions and first-half gains.Walmart says members spend about four times more than non-members, adding value beyond fee revenues. Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) continues to broaden its earnings mix beyond traditional retail, with membership becoming a more meaningful contributor to its overall business. Growth across Walmart+ and Sam’s Club is adding fee income while strengthening customer engagement and supporting the company’s expanding digital ecosystem.

Global membership fee revenues increased 17% year over year in the second quarter of fiscal 2027 and reached an all-time high. Walmart+ continued to post double-digit growth in the United States, supported by record second-quarter net additions. The program also delivered its strongest first-half membership growth since its launch. Walmart U.S. membership and other income rose 15.6%.

Membership momentum extended across other markets and formats. Sam’s Club U.S. membership fee revenues increased nearly 6%, driven by steady growth in member accounts and higher Plus penetration. International membership fee revenues climbed 28%, while Sam’s Club China reached record member counts. Walmart also launched Walmart+ in Canada during the quarter.

The broader economic value of membership goes beyond fee revenues. Walmart noted that members spend approximately four times more than non-members. Membership revenues also contributed to improving Walmart U.S. e-commerce economics, alongside advertising, delivery-network density, fee-based expedited delivery and automation.

Membership is taking on a larger role in Walmart’s evolving profit mix. Rising fee revenues, growing enrollment and higher spending by members strengthen its contribution to the broader ecosystem.

What Do the Latest Metrics Say About Walmart?Walmart, which competes with Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , has seen its shares gain 4.8% over the past year compared with the industry’s 3.6% growth. Shares of Costco have climbed 0.6%, while Target has surged 77.2% in the aforementioned period.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 34.79, higher than the industry’s 31.80. The company is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 16.15) while trading at a discount to Costco (40.59). 
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

BELVIDERE, N.J., Sept. 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Edible Garden AG Incorporated (“Edible Garden” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: EDBL, EDBLW), a leader in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), organic and sustainable produce, and developer of the Zero-Waste Inspired® mission and Farm-to-Formula® platform, today announced that Walmart has awarded the Company a third distribution center for its fresh herb products. The latest award builds on two previously announced distribution center wins and is expected to broaden the availability of Edible Garden products across additional Walmart stores in the Eastern Midwest, further expand the Company’s regional retail reach and advance its transition toward a scalable, distribution model designed to improve product freshness, fulfillment efficiency and supply-chain economics.

The third distribution center award further expands Edible Garden’s Midwest footprint and is expected to provide the Company with access to additional Walmart stores and opportunities to increase fresh herb volume. Supported by Edible Garden Heartland in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Edible Garden Prairie Hills in Webster City, Iowa, the Company believes its growing distribution footprint can enable it to leverage its existing Midwest operations more effectively as volume increases, while providing a foundation to pursue additional stores, products and regional opportunities with Walmart and other major retailers.

“Securing another Walmart distribution center award represents meaningful continued progress in the expansion of our fresh herb business,” said Jim Kras, Chief Executive Officer of Edible Garden. “Each additional award broadens our reach and gives us the opportunity to serve more Walmart stores while leveraging our existing operations more effectively. We are especially encouraged by the pace at which our distribution footprint with Walmart is expanding. We believe this growing relationship demonstrates the strength of our fresh herb platform and provides us with additional opportunities to increase volume, improve operating leverage and support continued growth across our broader food and nutrition business.”

The latest award further strengthens Edible Garden’s retail distribution footprint as the Company continues to expand beyond its core fresh produce business into higher-margin food and nutrition categories. Edible Garden believes the continued growth of its relationships with major retailers can provide additional opportunities over time to introduce products developed through its Farm-to-Formula® platform across an increasingly broad retail network.

ABOUT EDIBLE GARDEN®

Edible Garden AG Incorporated is a leader in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), delivering organic, better-for-you, sustainable produce and products through its Zero-Waste Inspired® next-generation farming model. Available in over 6,000 retail locations across the United States, Caribbean, and South America, Edible Garden is at the forefront of the CEA and sustainability technology movement, distinguished by its advanced safety-in-farming protocols, sustainable packaging, patented GreenThumb software, and innovative Self-Watering in-store displays. The Company operates state-of-the-art, vertically integrated greenhouses and processing facilities, including Edible Garden Heartland in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Edible Garden Prairie Hills in Webster City, Iowa; and its headquarters at Edible Garden Belvidere in New Jersey. It also partners with a network of contract growers strategically located near major U.S. markets to ensure freshness and reduce environmental impact. The Company is also expanding its Prairie Hills facility in Webster City, Iowa, into a dedicated ready-to-drink (RTD) clean nutrition manufacturing hub, supporting its Farm-to-Formula® strategy and its transformation into higher-margin, shelf-stable nutrition categories.

Edible Garden’s proprietary GreenThumb 2.0 software—protected by U.S. Patents US 11,158,006 B1, US 11,410,249 B2, and US 11,830,088 B2—optimizes vertical and traditional greenhouse growing conditions while aiming to reduce food miles. Its patented Self-Watering display (U.S. Patent No. D1,010,365) is designed to extend plant shelf life and elevate in-store presentation. In addition to its core CEA operations, Edible Garden owns three patents in advanced aquaculture technologies: a closed-loop shrimp farming system (US 6,615,767 B1), a modular recirculating aquaculture setup with automated water treatment and feeding (US 10,163,199 B2), and a sensor-driven ammonia control method utilizing electrolytic chlorine generation (US 11,297,809 B1).

The Company has been recognized as a FoodTech 500 firm by Forward Fooding, is a multi-year participant in Walmart’s Project Gigaton and a Giga Guru designee and has received NRG’s Excellence in Energy Award for its commitment to measurable environmental performance and energy stewardship. Edible Garden also develops and markets a growing line of nutrition and specialty food products, including Vitamin Way® and Vitamin Whey®—plant and whey protein powders—and Kick. Sports Nutrition, a premium performance line for health-conscious athletes seeking cleaner, better-for-you options. The Company’s offerings further include fresh, sustainable condiments such as Pulp fermented gourmet and chili-based sauces, as well as Pickle Party, a collection of fermented fresh pickles and krauts.

Learn more at https://ediblegardenag.com.
For Pulp products, visit https://www.pulpflavors.com.
For Vitamin Whey® products, visit https://vitaminwhey.com.
For Kick. Sports Nutrition products, visit https://kicksportsnutrition.net/.

Watch the Company’s latest corporate video here.

Investor Contacts:
Crescendo Communications, LLC
212-671-1020
[email protected]

Key Takeaways Walmart plans a co-branded Medicare Advantage plan with SCAN Health Plan in Arizona and Texas. The plan may include pharmacy, vision, food and OTC benefits alongside Walmart technology capabilities.Health and wellness customers spend about three times more than the average Walmart customer. Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) continues to strengthen its position through its value proposition, omnichannel convenience and expanding digital ecosystem. The retailer is benefiting from market share gains and momentum across e-commerce, membership, advertising and marketplace. Its stores are also becoming increasingly important fulfillment hubs, helping support faster delivery and broader customer engagement.

In a recent development, Walmart announced a collaboration with SCAN Health Plan to launch a co-branded Medicare Advantage plan in Arizona and Texas. Subject to regulatory review and approval, the offering may incorporate pharmacy and vision services as well as food and over-the-counter benefits, alongside Walmart’s technology capabilities.

The partnership also highlights Walmart’s efforts to extend technology into health and wellness. Its Everyday Health Signals platform delivers personalized nutrition and wellness insights based on users’ stated goals and shopping preferences. Walmart and SCAN plan to make these capabilities available to participating members as part of broader wellness support.

The initiative is notable, given the importance of health and wellness shoppers to Walmart. The company said these customers spend about three times more than the average Walmart customer, while adding pharmacy delivery can lift spending further. Prescription volumes are also growing, with Walmart reporting pharmacy market share gains.

However, the health and wellness category faces near-term sales pressure from pharmacy deflation and regulatory-related pricing changes. Against this backdrop, the SCAN collaboration could broaden Walmart’s healthcare offering and create additional opportunities to deepen customer engagement over time.

What Do the Latest Metrics Say About Walmart?Walmart, which competes with Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , has seen its shares gain 3.8% over the past year compared with the industry’s 2.9% growth. Shares of Costco have dipped 5.1%, while Target has surged 82.8% in the aforementioned period.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 34.46, higher than the industry’s 31.55. The company is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 16.21) while trading at a discount to Costco (39.59). 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) could dramatically expand its same-day delivery network as it takes aim at a key advantage held by Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT), according to Bank of America analyst Justin Post.

Post reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $320 price forecast. He said the company’s proposed Project Mercury could expand its same-day delivery footprint more than tenfold.

Amazon Targets 1,000-Plus Same-Day FacilitiesCiting a Business Insider report, Post said Amazon is considering expanding its Sub Same-Day fulfillment network to more than 1,000 facilities by 2031 from 85 today.

The facilities stock about 90,000 of Amazon’s fastest-selling products. That includes household essentials, Fresh items and medicines.

Amazon estimates a three-year investment of $6.8 billion could generate $7.1 billion in economic value over 10 years. The project could become cash-flow positive by 2030.

Bank of America said the expansion could help Amazon challenge Walmart’s proximity advantage.

Walmart uses about 5,000 stores to support rapid fulfillment. Its network puts fast delivery within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population.

Project Mercury could put the company’s same-day capacity within 10 miles of 80% of U.S. Prime members by 2031.

Post said the direct financial returns from Mercury appear modest. However, he views the project as strategically important. The $6.8 billion investment would represent less than 5% of Bank of America’s estimated annual Amazon retail capital spending.

The analyst also expects the company’s denser fulfillment network and continued automation to support retail margin improvement for several years. He added that progress across AWS, chips and Bedrock leaves Amazon positioned to benefit from AI in both cloud computing and retail.

AMZN Stock Price Activity: Amazon.com shares were up 2.30% at $251.61 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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5 Defensive Stocks to Watch as CPI and the Fed Put the Rally to the TestWalmart NASDAQ: WMT said it is maintaining a focus on price investments, faster fulfillment and expanding digital services as it seeks to build market share, while managing continued inflation and regulatory pressure in pharmacy.

During a discussion with Goldman Sachs analyst Kate McShane, a Walmart executive said the company’s price gaps remain strong, supported by investments intended to reinforce its Every Day Low Price strategy. The retailer is working with suppliers to translate negotiated rollbacks into lower prices for customers during the second half of the year.

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Retail Earnings Just Exposed a Bigger Divide in the U.S. Consumer EconomyInflation in the first half was approximately 1.4%, with food inflation near 1% and general merchandise inflation near 2%, the executive said. The inflation rate fell below 1% in the third quarter as price investments took effect. Walmart expects inflation in the back half of the year to resemble the first-half level.

Health and Wellness Faces MFP Headwind Walmart’s health and wellness business represents about 10% of its U.S. business, with pharmaceuticals accounting for the majority of that segment. The executive said Maximum Fair Pricing, or MFP, was applied to roughly 10 high-volume drugs. About eight of those drugs either became generic or extended prices beyond Medicaid to consumers more broadly, creating a top-line headwind.

Gold and Bitcoin Are Rebounding—2 ETFs Give Investors a Different Kind of ExposureThat pressure is expected to continue next year after 15 additional drugs were announced for MFP treatment. Still, Walmart said its core health and wellness business remains strong, with prescription growth increasing year over year in the second quarter and profitability improving by double digits.

The retailer also highlighted the spending behavior of health and wellness customers. Customers who engage with health and wellness spend roughly three times more than the average Walmart customer, while pharmacy-delivery customers spend nearly six times more, according to the company. Walmart said it can deliver pharmaceuticals to 96% of the U.S. population within three hours or less and to 60% within 30 minutes or less.

E-Commerce Growth and Fulfillment Expansion Walmart reported 24% e-commerce growth during the latest quarter, marking its 10th consecutive quarter of growth above 20%. The executive attributed the performance to assortment, price and customer experience, including broader Marketplace offerings, digital access to services such as pharmacy and vision, and faster delivery.

About 70% of Walmart’s deliveries to homes are now delivered the same day or faster, the company said. It also reported a doubling in deliveries completed within 30 minutes or less from the prior year. Approximately 80% of e-commerce deliveries flow through stores, while nearly 40% of all deliveries from stores are now delivered in hours or minutes.

The company described its fulfillment-network buildout as being in the “top of the fourth inning.” Walmart is investing in advanced robotics, modernized software and supply-chain capabilities intended to improve inventory positioning and make more products available for two-day, next-day, same-day and faster delivery.

Walmart said its e-commerce operation has now recorded six consecutive quarters of profitability, with the latest quarter representing its most profitable e-commerce quarter to date. Marketplace, advertising and membership businesses have supported that progress, although the executive said e-commerce was profitable in the second quarter even excluding advertising.

AI Shopping, Marketplace and Advertising Walmart said engagement with its AI shopping assistant, Sparky, is increasing. The assistant can support checkout, customer service, recipes and visual shopping, according to the company. Walmart said visual shopping has produced a 57% higher conversion rate than text-based shopping, while weekly engagement with Sparky increased more than 60% quarter over quarter. Customers using Sparky have generated average order values that are 40% higher, the executive said.

The retailer also said it is seeing high conversion rates from customers referred by OpenAI and Google’s Gemini, adding that many of those shoppers are new or returning customers with high organic repeat rates.

Walmart Marketplace grew 52% in the quarter, with general merchandise accounting for the bulk of that growth. The company cited Nespresso and beauty brand Medicube as examples of brands attracting customers who are new to certain Walmart categories. Walmart Fulfillment Services handles about 50% of Marketplace volume and is offered at roughly a 15% discount to competing market pricing, the executive said.

Walmart Connect advertising revenue increased more than 40% in the quarter and carries margins of roughly 70%, according to the company. Walmart also said unit growth for Vizio and Vizio-powered onn televisions exceeded 150% year over year. The retailer is testing digital signs in stores and expects to operate in more than 200 stores by year-end.

Holiday Focus Remains on Value and Convenience Walmart said back-to-school performance has been strong, supported by value-focused items including a 24-pack of Pen+Gear crayons for 24 cents and wide-rule paper for 82 cents. The company said it sells more than 50% of U.S. back-to-school unit volume.

Looking ahead to holiday shopping, the executive said Walmart’s merchants are prepared with new items and “sharp price points.” The company plans to emphasize both low prices and convenience, arguing that customers increasingly define value as saving both money and time.

“There is a great opportunity right now to go after market share,” the executive said. “We are playing offense.”

About Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)Walmart Inc is a multinational retail and technology company that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, e-commerce platforms and membership warehouse clubs. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and beauty products, general merchandise and other consumer products.

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated in 1969, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company serves customers through operations in the United States and international markets, including Mexico, Canada, China, India and several countries in Central America and Africa.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

Should You Invest $1,000 in Walmart Right Now?Before you consider Walmart, you'll want to hear this.

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Key Takeaways Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales rose 24% in fiscal Q2 2027 as store-fulfilled delivery sales grew 43%. WMT stores fulfill 80% of e-commerce orders and 100% of fast deliveries, anchoring last-mile fulfillment. Walmart says fast-delivery users shop more often, deepen engagement and are more likely to join Walmart . Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) is using faster delivery to deepen convenience within its omnichannel model and give customers more reasons to choose Walmart across shopping occasions. The expansion is becoming increasingly relevant to customer engagement, with Walmart linking digital capabilities to growth, customer spend and market share gains across all operating segments.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales increased 24%, while store-fulfilled delivery sales grew approximately 43%. Expedited deliveries completed in under three hours accounted for roughly 37% of store-fulfilled orders, while average weekly customers increased more than 20%. Fast delivery in the United States rose 48% during the quarter, and sub-30-minute delivery expanded to 38 U.S. markets.

Walmart’s store network remains central to the delivery model. Stores serve as last-mile fulfillment nodes for 80% of e-commerce orders and 100% of fast deliveries. Walmart also noted that customers using fast delivery shop more frequently, deepen their engagement and are more likely to become Walmart+ members.

The delivery offering is also extending into additional food occasions. Walmart’s recent collaboration with Dunkin’ is set to launch first via 150 in-store tenant locations, with plans to expand to the majority of Dunkin’s 10,000 locations outside Walmart stores nationwide.

This expansion increases the number of occasions in which customers can use WMT for delivery, while fast-delivery users already shop more frequently and show deeper engagement. Walmart’s digital capabilities are helping drive market share gains, while faster delivery is becoming a bigger part of its omnichannel strategy.

What Do the Latest Metrics Say About Walmart?Walmart, which competes with Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , has seen its shares gain 3.3% over the past year compared with the industry’s 2.2% growth. Shares of Costco have dipped 5.8%, while Target has surged 79.7% in the aforementioned period.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 34.67, higher than the industry’s 31.73. The company is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 15.96) while trading at a discount to Costco (40.11). 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

5 Defensive Stocks to Watch as CPI and the Fed Put the Rally to the TestWalmart NASDAQ: WMT is expanding its advertising business beyond traditional retail media by building self-service tools, broadening its connected-TV capabilities and pursuing more advertising opportunities both inside and outside its shopping ecosystem, Walmart Connect U.S. General Manager Ryan Mayward said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference.

Mayward, who became general manager about eight or nine months ago after initially joining Walmart Connect in sales, said the business has evolved during the past several years from a managed-service publisher model toward a scalable advertising platform. Earlier efforts centered on sponsorships tied to major shopping events and a nascent search business, he said. The company is now focused on performance advertising, self-service buying tools, application programming interfaces and partnerships with service providers.

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Marketplace growth supports ad expansion Retail Earnings Just Exposed a Bigger Divide in the U.S. Consumer EconomyMayward described Walmart’s marketplace and advertising operations as “symbiotic.” More third-party sellers can expand product assortment, attract customer attention and generate more gross merchandise value, while also increasing competition among sellers for consumer attention through advertising, particularly paid search.

Marketplace sellers compete through retail fundamentals such as price, shipping speed, product ratings, reviews and item-page content, but advertising provides another way to stand out, he said. Mayward added that a broader advertiser base can make advertising revenue more diversified and potentially less exposed to weakness in any one industry.

Gold and Bitcoin Are Rebounding—2 ETFs Give Investors a Different Kind of ExposureHe said Walmart Connect is seeking to make its tools workable for advertisers of different sizes, from a small brand spending $1,000 per month to a large brand spending $10 million per month.

CTV strategy centers on VIZIO and external partners Mayward said Walmart is particularly focused on connected television, including opportunities to make TV advertising more accessible to smaller and local businesses. The company completed its VIZIO acquisition on Aug. 4, according to Mayward, and sees the platform as a way to offer campaign setup, goal-based buying, automated optimization and measurement that are familiar to advertisers using search and social platforms.

Walmart has enabled Walmart audience targeting and measurement on VIZIO inventory, and 2026 is the first full year that Walmart Connect advertisers have been able to use the offering, Mayward said. He said adoption has been strong among large consumer packaged goods advertisers.

The company is also seeking to expand VIZIO’s reach by selling more VIZIO televisions and placing the VIZIO smart-TV operating system on Walmart’s onn private-label TVs. Mayward said the combined effort made the VIZIO operating system the leading smart-TV operating system in the U.S. during the first half of the year.

Walmart is working with Magnite to make Walmart Connect audience and measurement capabilities available on VIZIO inventory while allowing advertisers to buy through multiple demand-side platforms. Yahoo DSP advertisers can activate campaigns on the inventory, and Mayward said DV360 integration is expected to follow.

Separately, Walmart is in a beta phase with YouTube that allows advertisers to use Walmart data to target and measure campaigns on the video platform. Mayward said the initial managed-service approach is intended to help the companies develop a self-service campaign workflow. Walmart has also established advertising partnerships with Meta and TikTok.

AI shopping tools and measurement remain priorities Mayward said Walmart is working with Google and OpenAI to enable discovery of Walmart products in their agentic shopping interfaces, though he characterized the activity as early and relatively small. Walmart is also investing in its own shopping agent, Sparky.

According to Mayward, Sparky’s weekly active customers doubled year over year and rose 60% quarter over quarter. He said the average order value for Sparky shopping trips is 40% higher than for non-Sparky trips, citing use cases involving more considered purchases such as planning a tailgate party.

For advertisers, Walmart Connect is emphasizing measurement tied to business goals such as customer acquisition, household penetration, customer reactivation and larger shopping baskets. Mayward said the company measures online ads’ impact on purchases in both the Walmart app and stores, and has introduced tools to measure sales lift and incrementality across display, video and search.

Walmart is also testing inventory- and price-aware end-of-aisle screens in certain stores. The screens can show sponsored messages intended to direct shoppers into relevant aisles, particularly in food and consumables, Mayward said.

Advertising viewed as incremental profit opportunity Mayward said the company’s advertising business has margins above 70%, compared with approximately 5% for Walmart’s core retail business. He said Walmart views advertising profit as incremental rather than the result of shifting spending from other trade-investment categories.

While e-commerce growth and advertising growth are directly connected because more online shoppers and higher e-commerce GMV expand the advertising opportunity, Mayward said advertising can also grow beyond Walmart’s e-commerce operations. This includes non-endemic advertisers such as insurance companies, financial-services firms, quick-service restaurants, entertainment companies and local businesses.

Walmart has begun offering non-endemic placements in its shopping app and through offsite advertising capabilities. Mayward said connected TV can further expand the company’s addressable advertiser base.

Looking ahead, Walmart is working to place Sam’s Club and international advertising operations on a common advertising technology stack. Mayward said the effort could improve use of data and advertising placements in those businesses while eventually supporting deeper relationships with global brands.

“We are building out the capabilities to be in all those places,” Mayward said, referring to shopping environments, social platforms, television and short-form video. “As those capabilities mature, our advertising business opportunity size will be much bigger than that which is enabled by the retail business.”

About Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)Walmart Inc is a multinational retail and technology company that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, e-commerce platforms and membership warehouse clubs. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and beauty products, general merchandise and other consumer products.

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated in 1969, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company serves customers through operations in the United States and international markets, including Mexico, Canada, China, India and several countries in Central America and Africa.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

Should You Invest $1,000 in Walmart Right Now?Before you consider Walmart, you'll want to hear this.

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Walmart's main business is still its stores, but the company is always trying new things too. Bloomberg/Getty Images Walmart got its start in 1962 selling general merchandise as a discount store in Rogers, Arkansas.

Founder Sam Walton was constantly on the lookout for new retail concepts to try, and he wasn't shy about borrowing ideas from other successful entrepreneurs.

"He just tried things, and he would learn, and if it didn't work, it wasn't a failure," CEO John Furner said during a conversation with reporters at Walmart's headquarters in June. "We just learned from it."

Last week, Walmart moved to grow its delivery service in a partnership with Dunkin', putting the company on a collision course with delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats. The retailer will eventually offer delivery from most of the 10,000 Dunkin' locations across the US, moving onto turf long dominated by DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Walmart described itself as "a rapidly emerging contender in the restaurant delivery business."

That delivery experiment is a continuation of a pattern that Furner says is part of Walmart's DNA.

"We constantly want to learn. We see where the world's going. Some things apply, some things don't," he said. "We'll learn from it and figure out the best way that we can accelerate the business."

Here are eight bets Walmart has placed over the years in its bid to grow beyond traditional discount retailing.

Home improvement

Walmart's experiment in home improvement retail was short-lived. Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images One of Walmart's first attempts at branching out came in 1975 with the launch of the Sav-Co Home Improvement Center chain. The brand didn't take off, and Walmart shifted its focus to adding new features to its stores.

While local hardware stores were common in this era, large-store formats were relatively uncommon. Home Depot didn't open its first stores until 1979.

Pharmacy

Walmart has one of the largest pharmacy operations in the US. John Gress/Corbis via Getty Images One of Walmart's early in-store experiments was in the pharmacy business, which began in 1978 and has since grown into one of the company's key business lines.

Walmart dispensed an estimated $36.8 billion in prescriptions last year, making it the fifth largest pharmacy in the US, according to the Drug Channels Institute, which tracks the pharmaceutical industry.

More recently, Walmart has stepped up prescription delivery speeds, with some orders filled in 30 minutes or less.

Auto service

Nearly 2,600 Walmart locations include auto service centers. Dominick Reuter/Business Insider Walmart opened its first auto care center in Oklahoma in 1979 and the service has expanded to nearly 2,600 locations across the US.

Walmart's auto centers have also served as a testing ground for the company's expanding third-party marketplace, with customers able to order products like tires online that are shipped to a local store for scheduled installation.

Warehouse club

Sam's Club delivered $93 billion in sales last year. Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty Images The 80's were a busy decade for Walmart and Sam Walton in terms of experimentation.

"'82, '83 I think he opened four different formats in that two year period," Furner said in June. "Sam's Club came out of it and was really successful, and the others we decided not to go forward with."

Walton's approach to the wholesale club was modeled on Saul Price's concepts FedMart and Price Club, the latter of which also inspired and eventually merged with Costco.

Sam's Club now has more than 600 US locations with $90 billion in sales last year.

Grocery

Walmart is America's grocery king. Scott Olson/Getty Images The Walmart supercenter is a quintessentially American phenomenon, but Walton famously modeled the concept off the European hypermarket format, which combined general merchandise retail with groceries under a single roof.

"It took probably five or six years until there was a store in Washington, Missouri, that worked," Furner said of Walton's attempts to adapt the hypermarket concept to the US.

It still took Walmart opening about a dozen more supercenters for the idea to really gain traction, he added.

There are now more than 3,500 supercenters and more than 650 neighborhood market grocery stores in the US. Walmart is the largest grocery chain in the country, pulling in roughly one in five dollars spent in the category, according to consumer analytics firm Numerator.

Specialty retail

Walmart dabbled in specialty retail but ultimately sold those brands. Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images About a decade ago, Walmart embarked on a flurry of merger activity, snapping up specialty retailers Bonobos, Moosejaw, and Modcloth in a bid to expand the company's reach with specialty brands and e-commerce customers.

All three chains remained independent of Walmart's core operations and were subsequently sold off to other owners as the company refocused on its own offerings.

Advertising

Walmart Connect and Vizio logos at Cannes. Katie Jones/Variety via Getty Images In 2019, Walmart brought its advertising business in-house with what would become Walmart Connect, which sells ad space for the company's physical and digital properties.

Combined with a growing third-party e-commerce marketplace and the acquisition of TV-maker Vizio, Walmart's ads business has delivered significant revenue growth in recent years.

Restaurant delivery

Walmart is going beyond grocery delivery with a new partnership with Dunkin' Donuts. Walmart Walmart's latest bet puts the company on a course to compete more directly with food delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats.

After letting grocery-delivery customers add meals from in-store Subway shops, Walmart said in September it would bring thousands of off-site Dunkin' locations to the service.

Walmart has already established itself as a powerhouse in fast delivery for merchandise, groceries, and medicine — now it's set to fulfill more of what other chains sell too.

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Dominick Reuter You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.

Dominick Reuter is a senior retail reporter for Business Insider, primarily covering Walmart, Target, and Costco. His stories tend to focus on issues and trends that affect employees and customers.Prior to joining BI in 2019, Dominick worked for more than a decade as an independent photojournalist covering a wide range of stories for global wire services and newspapers, including Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and Agence France-Presse.Dominick studied photojournalism at Boston University and later earned a Masters in business and economics journalism from Columbia University.If you're an employee or customer with a story to share, please contact me via email or text/call/Signal at 646-768-4750.

Walmart Retail

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) are trading higher Thursday afternoon as the retail giant benefits from broader market tailwinds and fresh expansion within its delivery ecosystem.

Here’s what investors need to know.

Walmart stock is showing upward movement. Why is WMT stock trading higher? Inspire Brands Partnership Expands Delivery ReachProviding a direct company catalyst Thursday morning, Walmart announced a strategic partnership with Inspire Brands to integrate popular restaurant delivery services, starting with Dunkin’ locations situated within Walmart stores, directly into its platform.

The initiative aims to leverage Walmart’s vast store footprint and digital app infrastructure to broaden its delivery offerings and deepen customer engagement across its nationwide retail network.

Dovish Fed Remarks and Falling Yields Support Retail SentimentBroader macroeconomic factors also lifted Walmart alongside the wider equities market Thursday afternoon. A pullback in U.S. Treasury yields, following dovish inflation commentary from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, helped ease market-wide concerns regarding elevated interest rates and persistent pressure on consumer discretionary spending.

Lower yields provide a favorable backdrop for large-cap retail and consumer staples as investors position for potential central bank rate stabilization.

Rebounding Following Recent Post-Earnings VolatilityThursday’s upward momentum helps Walmart regain ground following recent post-earnings volatility. In its second-quarter report released on Aug. 20, the retailer beat Wall Street expectations with revenue of $187.9 billion (up 5.9% year-over-year) and adjusted EPS of $0.81 (surpassing the 74 cent estimate), bolstered by a 23% jump in global e-commerce and 38% growth in advertising revenue.

However, shares plunged in late August following the release as investors fixated on slowing core retail momentum, marked by U.S. same-store sales growth dipping to 2.6%, the lowest pace in over six years.

During the earnings call, management acknowledged that lower- and middle-income consumers are making more visible trade-offs due to persistent inflationary pressures and elevated fuel costs. To counter this, executives highlighted plans to reinvest tariff refunds into aggressive price reductions via more than 11,000 “rollbacks”.

While Walmart raised its full-year EPS outlook to $2.80 to $2.87, cautious third-quarter adjusted EPS guidance of 62 cents to 64 cents reignited near-term growth concerns.

WMT Shares Rise Thursday AfternoonWMT Price Action: Walmart shares were up 2.60% at $108.85 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Key Takeaways Walmart's International e-commerce sales rose 19%, lifting digital mix to about 30% of net sales. China e-commerce sales jumped 26%, with digital mix reaching 55% and faster delivery supporting growth. Lower e-commerce losses lifted operating income, but investments and mix pressures weighed on margins. Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) is seeing its International business become increasingly digital, with e-commerce representing a larger share of sales across markets. The shift is occurring alongside improving e-commerce economics, although the segment’s constant-currency operating margin remained under pressure in the second quarter of fiscal 2027.

International e-commerce sales increased 19% in the quarter, led by China, India and Canada. E-commerce accounted for about 30% of International net sales on a constant-currency basis, up roughly 300 basis points year over year. China stood out, with e-commerce sales rising 26% and digital mix reaching 55%, up 239 basis points from a year earlier. Across International, about 65% of e-commerce units were delivered the same or next day, with roughly half of those arriving in less than one hour.

The segment also showed progress on digital profitability. International operating income increased 16.6% to $1.4 billion, while constant-currency operating income rose 5.7% to $1.3 billion. The increase benefited from lower e-commerce losses and business mix changes across markets.

However, the constant-currency operating income rate declined 9 basis points to 3.9%, while the gross profit rate fell 15 basis points to 21.4%. Meanwhile, reported operating margin rose 13 basis points to 4.1%. The results show that a higher digital mix is being accompanied by better e-commerce margins and lower e-commerce losses. Still, those benefits were partly offset by a discrete trade receivable reserve, price investments, format mix and strategic investments in Mexico and Canada, leaving constant-currency segment margin below the year-ago level.

Walmart International’s rising digital mix is showing signs of better e-commerce economics, but sustained margin expansion will depend on whether those gains can increasingly offset ongoing investment and mix-related pressures.

What Do the Latest Metrics Say About Walmart?Walmart, which competes with Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , has seen its shares gain 8.1% over the past year compared with the industry’s 4.8% growth. Shares of Costco have climbed 0.1%, while Target has surged 67.6% in the aforementioned period.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 34.07, higher than the industry’s 30.67. The company is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 16.5) while trading at a discount to Costco (46.2). 
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research