Walmart Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

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Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) raised its fiscal 2027 sales, operating income and earnings outlook after reporting second-quarter results that management said reflected continued market-share gains, eCommerce momentum and growth in higher-margin businesses including advertising, Marketplace and membership.

Enterprise net sales increased 5% in constant currency, reaching the top end of the company’s prior 4% to 5% guidance range. Adjusted operating income rose more than 17% in constant currency, while adjusted earnings per share increased more than 19%. CFO John David Rainey said the quarterly profit result included a benefit from tariff refunds, partially offset by price investments.

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Excluding the tariff-refund effect, Rainey said underlying operating income growth was at the top end of Walmart’s prior 7% to 10% guidance range. Walmart has received substantially all of approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds for which it was eligible and plans to continue directing much of the funds toward customer experience and price investments.

Sales Growth Across Segments

Walmart U.S. comparable sales excluding fuel rose 2.6%, led by transaction growth. Total Walmart U.S. net sales increased 3.5%. Sam’s Club U.S. comparable sales rose 4.4%, supported by a 7% increase in transactions and growth in unit volumes. International sales increased nearly 8% in constant currency, led by 9.7% growth in China.

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Management said changes related to Maximum Fair Price regulation for certain drugs reduced Walmart U.S. comparable sales by approximately 125 basis points during the quarter. Rainey said the company now expects the full-year impact from deflation and branded-to-generic drug transfers under the regulation to be about 125 basis points, higher than its earlier estimate of 100 basis points.

He said Walmart’s core merchandise categories, excluding health and wellness, have generally produced comparable-sales growth in the 3% to 4% range over the past two and a half years. The company expects core comparables to remain in a similar range in the second half.

John Furner, Walmart’s CEO, said the retailer continued to gain market share, grow unit volumes and add transactions. He highlighted strength in toys, pantry and fresh categories, as well as continued growth from higher-income households.

Price Investments and Consumer Pressure

Walmart increased the number of rollbacks in its U.S. stores to more than 11,000 during the quarter, compared with 7,200 at the end of the first quarter. Furner said the company is investing in lower prices because customers remain under pressure and because management believes price leadership supports durable market-share gains.

Rainey said higher fuel prices added pressure on consumers during the quarter, particularly when prices exceeded $4. He said customers appeared to make more trade-offs in June, and Walmart expects lower prices to provide a cumulative benefit rather than an immediate full offset through higher volume.

“We are not managing our business for one quarter,” Rainey said, adding that Walmart is pursuing its strategy on a multiyear basis. Furner said price reductions in food and consumables tend initially to drive unit growth, with share gains developing over time.

Management said its price investments span grocery, general merchandise, consumables, fashion and seasonal items. Furner cited investments in categories such as ground beef, while Walmart U.S. President and CEO David Guggina pointed to a summer grilling basket designed to feed eight people for under $40.

Digital, Advertising and Membership Growth

Global eCommerce sales increased 23%, with Walmart U.S. eCommerce rising 24%, Sam’s Club U.S. eCommerce rising 26% and international eCommerce rising 19%. Walmart U.S. has now recorded more than 20% eCommerce growth for 10 consecutive quarters, according to Furner.

Marketplace sales in the U.S. grew 52%, while global advertising revenue rose 38%. Walmart Connect, the company’s U.S. advertising business, increased 43%, and Walmart U.S. advertising including VIZIO rose 38%. Rainey said nearly half of Marketplace volume moved through Walmart Fulfillment Services during the quarter, an increase of nearly 400 basis points from a year earlier.

Membership income increased nearly 17% globally. Sam’s Club U.S. membership income rose nearly 6%, while Walmart+ recorded strong double-digit growth and its best first half of membership growth in program history, according to Rainey. He said Walmart+ members spend about four times more than nonmembers.

Walmart also expanded Marketplace capabilities into Mexico and Canada and launched Walmart+ in Canada. The company acquired Vibe, a move Furner said would expand self-service advertising tools for businesses of different sizes.

Supply Chain, AI and Updated Outlook

Walmart said automation and delivery-network improvements are supporting both service levels and eCommerce profitability. More than 3,100 U.S. stores are served by some level of automated freight, and automated facilities process more than half of the company’s eCommerce fulfillment volume. Fee-based fast deliveries represented a record 37% of store-fulfilled deliveries during the quarter.

Furner said sub-30-minute delivery has expanded to 38 U.S. markets, while fast-delivery volume rose 48%. Walmart’s AI shopping tool, Sparky, saw usage increase 70% from a year earlier, and customers using the service spent 40% more per order than those who did not, he said.

For fiscal 2027, Walmart raised its sales-growth outlook to 4% to 5% from 3.5% to 4.5%. The company raised its operating-income growth forecast to 7% to 8.5%, from 6% to 8%, and increased its adjusted EPS outlook to $2.80 to $2.87 from $2.75 to $2.85.

For the third quarter, Walmart expects enterprise sales growth of 3% to 3.75%, operating income growth of 2% to 4% in constant currency and EPS of $0.62 to $0.64. The company said it now expects more than $2 billion in incremental fuel-related costs during the year and expects the Vibe acquisition and integration to create an approximately 20-basis-point headwind to operating-income growth.

About Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)

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

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

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