Aug 20, 2026 earnings call — Price investment and e-commerce drive growth
Walmart raised full-year sales guidance to 4% to 5% after Q2 with enterprise net sales growth of 5%.
Revenue $187.9B (est $186.6B) · EPS $0.81 (est $0.74)
Key quotes
"We're investing heavily in price because customers need us to and because we believe it drives market share gains over time."
"The third area I'd like to highlight is our platform strategy. We're building capabilities that are increasingly scalable across markets."
"As we shared with you in May, we were eligible for approximately $2.9 billion of tariff refunds, amounting to about 0.5% of annual U.S. net sales."
Analyst Q&A 13
tariff refunds and price cuts
Q (Katharine McShane · Goldman Sachs): Analyst asked if the price investments already drove higher unit sales, how much vendors versus Walmart paid, and how Walmart will keep prices low into 2027.
A: Management said they invested in price in the second quarter, saw share gains across categories, and will manage investments across the two quarters while trying to keep prices low for customers.
"So on price specifically, as John David mentioned, we invested in price in the second quarter." — John Furner (CEO)
consumer pressure and price elasticity
Q (Simeon Gutman · Morgan Stanley): Analyst asked whether higher gas makes the lower-income consumer worse off, and how quickly price rollbacks show elastic response and whether there is a lag.
A: Management said higher fuel prices created visible pressure and that price rollbacks do show elasticity but there is a lag to see full benefits. They also noted rollbacks increased to 11,000 and that consumable rollbacks first raised units and transactions.
"But I think very importantly, in your question, there is a lag to this." — John Rainey (CFO)
tariff rate outlook and 2027 profit growth
Q (Gregory Melich · Evercore): Analyst asked whether new tariff rates are higher or lower than prior rules and whether operating income can grow faster than sales into 2027.
A: Management said they assume tariff rates stay at current levels and that if fuel improves it helps the forecast. They expressed confidence in bottom-line growth outpacing top-line growth and cited profit mix changes like membership and advertising.
"The assumption that we have with respect to tariff rates is basically at the level that we're experiencing today, stands true for where fuel prices are as well." — John Rainey (CFO)
health and wellness outlook
Q (Bradley Thomas · KeyBanc): Analyst asked about the multiyear outlook for health and wellness and how fair pricing affects it.
A: Management said they are positive on health and wellness momentum, with prescription volumes growing and market share gains. They emphasized that health and wellness customers spend materially more and that pharmacy convenience deepens relationships.
"When someone becomes a health and wellness customer, they spend on average 3x more than the average Walmart customer." — David Guggina
will rollbacks accelerate comps?
Q (Michael Lasser · UBS): Analyst asked if comps are already accelerating from price investments and what Walmart would do if the lift does not happen.
A: Management said everyday low price is their bias but they must balance price investments with forecasted operating income and will mix investments across categories. They noted July was stronger and that merchants will manage investments carefully.
"We always need to balance our price investments relative to what we're seeing in the market and with the commitments we made on our forecast, including operating income over time." — John Furner (CEO)
digital incremental margins and lapping rollbacks
Q (Christopher Nardone · BofA): Analyst asked about incremental margins from digital growth and how to lap current rollbacks while keeping store traffic next year.
A: Management said U.S. e-commerce incremental margins have generally been high single-digit to low double-digit, and that advertising growth (around 40%) could lift margins further. They said digital growth benefits from low marginal cost and adds higher-margin businesses like advertising and Vibe.
"Generally, U.S. e-commerce incremental margins have been in that high single-digit to low double-digit range." — John Rainey (CFO)
general merchandise slowdown reasons
Q (Christopher Horvers · JPMorgan): Analyst asked how much Gen Merch slowdown was due to stimulus timing versus gas prices, and whether back-to-school helped.
A: Management said the first quarter did benefit from stimulus (tax refunds) and higher gas in Q2 affected results. They also said back-to-college went very well and private brands and decor are showing strong comps, helping share and traffic.
"I think no doubt, the first quarter benefited from the stimulus payments related to tax refunds." — John Rainey (CFO)
rollback returns and permanence
Q (Krisztina Katai · Deutsche Bank): Analyst asked about metrics and payback that decide whether rollbacks become permanent and how much meet return thresholds.
A: Management said they prioritized investing refunds into price across categories, will watch unit movement and category effects, and judge by share gains. They said it's too early to know how many rollbacks will be made permanent and they will work with suppliers.
"Rollback has a start date and has an end date." — John Furner (CEO)
inventory and inflation outlook
Q (Robert Drbul · BTIG): Analyst asked if any inventory pockets are concerning and for inflation expectations for the rest of the year.
A: Management said inflation has been low this year, around 1% to 2%, and that inventories in merchandise categories are generally up 1% to 4% with consumables higher but fast-moving. They reported no big inventory concerns today but are watching fuel costs and some category lightness in June/July.
"Generally, we've seen a pretty low inflationary environment throughout the year." — John Furner (CEO)
communicating tariff refunds to customers
Q (Kelly Bania · BMO): Analyst asked how Walmart communicates tariff refund investments to customers, whether peers reinvest, and allocation between grocery and general merchandise.
A: Management said they invested across the entire store mix—food, general merchandise, consumables, fashion—and used signage in stores and homepage placement to communicate rollbacks. They said investments are mixed to match customer basket needs during back-to-school and other seasons.
"On our homepage, you'll see at the top left, the first -- one of the first titles right there on the top is rollbacks and more." — John Furner (CEO)
comp mix and SG&A drivers
Q (Paul Lejuez · Citi): Analyst asked how price investments affect traffic versus ticket in the second half and whether OpEx had timing shifts or higher liability claims.
A: Management said transactions and unit growth improved and that rollbacks drive unit growth and trust over time. On SG&A, they said depreciation from supply chain automation and group health (about 2/3 of the increase) were big drivers and attrition declines raised health plan enrollees.
"If you take the first half of the year, about 2/3 of the increase is from group health." — John Rainey (CFO)
stores role vs delivery and pharmacy
Q (Zhihan Ma · Bernstein): Analyst asked if higher gas or pharmacy delivery is reducing store traffic and whether that is structural or transitory.
A: Management said stores remain an asset for omni because they position inventory and associates close to customers; stores enable fast delivery and fulfill many e-commerce orders. They said more volume is moving through stores than before and they are investing in omni-enabled stores.
"They are an asset because they position inventory, they position associates within 10 miles of 95% of the country." — John Furner (CEO)
basket composition and ticket change
Q (Seth Sigman · Barclays): Analyst asked whether average ticket below inflation reflects trade down, mix shift, or smaller items and whether changes are transitory.
A: Management said they are seeing broad-based share gains, grocery grew mid-single digits with strong unit growth, and targeted rollback investments (grilling basket, bettergoods, lunch baskets) are driving traffic, ticket and units up in specific plays like back-to-school.
"We continue to see broad-based share gains across many categories." — David Guggina