- Prev. close
- $113.09
- Volume
- 5.3M
- Market cap
- $905.1B
Stock and sector context
Consumerinflow- Sector comparison
- Walmart changed +0.56%. The 8 covered Consumer stocks in US averaged +0.22%, with estimated sector flow of inflow.
- Variables to watch
- Consumer sentimentInflationTariffs
- Risks to check
- Consumers pulling back as prices rise
- Currency swings
- Sudden shifts in rates, oil and other macro variables
This compares price changes among covered stocks in the same market. It does not establish why prices moved. Variables and risks are sector reference lists.
Why a candidate
Match 43/100The match score marks how many conditions overlap on a 0 to 100 scale: the 52-week range, valuation metrics, price change and volume. It is not a probability of rising or a forecast return.
Today's read
Walmart scores 43 out of 100 on today's InverseOne match ranking, 8 of 30 in the US large-cap universe. The gap to its 52-week high is 19%. Today's move of +0.56% came with money flowing in, alongside the Consumer sector. Scores are estimates built from price and volume, a starting point for research rather than a trading signal.
Data basis: 2026-10-13 close, 10-14 00:20 KST updated, For reference only, not advice
Same-sector stocks, Consumer
Company research
Researched 2026-09-17 08:40 KSTWalmart U.S. eCommerce sales rose about $5.7 billion on the year in the second quarter, more than the segment's entire $4.3 billion increase in net sales.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, the three months from May to July 2026 that Walmart reported on 20 August, total revenues rose 5.9 percent on the year to $187.94 billion and operating income rose 28.8 percent to $9.38 billion, while consolidated net income attributable to Walmart fell 9.4 percent. Walmart U.S. net sales grew $4.3 billion to $125.19 billion, and eCommerce sales, which include orders placed online and fulfilled by stores as well as certain advertising revenue, went from about $23.7 billion to about $29.4 billion. In the same quarter the company received about $2.9 billion of tariff refunds through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection process and recorded them as a reduction to cost of sales, while other gains and losses, a non-operating line, swung from a $2,708 million gain a year earlier to a $1.2 billion loss. The company raised its full-year outlook for net sales growth to 4.0 to 5.0 percent in constant currency and lifted planned capital expenditures from about 3.5 percent to about 4.0 percent of net sales.
Key figures
- Second-quarter total revenues
- $187.94bn
- Fiscal 2027 Q2
- Operating income
- $9.38bn
- Fiscal 2027 Q2
- Walmart U.S. eCommerce sales
- about $29.4bn
- Fiscal 2027 Q2
- Tariff refunds received
- about $2.9bn
- Fiscal 2027 Q2
- First-half capital expenditures
- $14.18bn
- Fiscal 2027 first half
- Remaining buyback authorisation
- $25.1bn
- 2026-07-31
Fulfilled by a store, still counted as eCommerce
According to Note 6 of the quarterly report, Walmart U.S. net sales for the second quarter were $125,189 million, up $4.3 billion or 3.5 percent from $120,911 million a year earlier. The segment's eCommerce sales rose from about $23.7 billion to about $29.4 billion. What Walmart counts as eCommerce includes sales a customer starts online and a store fulfils, along with certain advertising, fulfillment services and data insights revenue. An order handed over at a store still lands in eCommerce if it began online. At the end of July the segment had 4,615 stores, nine more than a year earlier. Calendar comparable sales for Walmart U.S., calculated on the company's fiscal calendar and including fuel, rose 3.3 percent, and the quarterly report says eCommerce contributed approximately 4.9 percentage points. On the retail calendar used in the earnings release, comparable sales excluding fuel rose 2.6 percent, with an eCommerce contribution of about 5.1 points. The company named store-fulfilled delivery as the main driver. Across all three segments, eCommerce net sales grew $8.2 billion, or 23 percent.
Walmart U.S. net sales and the eCommerce within them ($ billions)
- Sales, Q2 FY26120.9
- Sales, Q2 FY27125.2
- eCommerce, Q2 FY2623.7
- eCommerce, Q2 FY2729.4
Health and wellness, pulled down by a prescription drug price rule
By merchandise category, most of the Walmart U.S. increase came from grocery, which rose $3,038 million from $71,092 million to $74,130 million. General merchandise added $270 million to reach $29,728 million, and other categories went from $3,113 million to $4,389 million. Health and wellness was the only one of the four to shrink, falling $306 million from $17,248 million to $16,942 million. The quarterly report attributes the decline primarily to maximum fair price regulation on certain prescription drugs, which took effect in January 2026. The earnings release says pharmacy deflation tied to that regulation held back Walmart U.S. comparable sales growth by 1.25 percentage points, and that the health and wellness category as a whole held it back by 0.8 points. Within the 2.6 percent retail-calendar comparable sales growth, transactions rose 1.5 percent and average ticket 1.1 percent.
Walmart U.S. net sales change by category, year on year ($ millions)
Where the tariff refunds went
Walmart took part in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection process for refunding tariffs it had paid as importer of record under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to the quarterly report, refunds received in the second quarter came to approximately $2.9 billion, mostly in the Walmart U.S. segment, and represent substantially all of the refunds the company requested. The company recorded them as a reduction to cost of sales. The consolidated gross profit rate rose 0.96 percentage points to 25.4 percent and the Walmart U.S. rate rose 1.58 points to 29.4 percent, and the quarterly report names tariff refunds as the main reason for both increases. In the same quarter consolidated operating income grew $2.1 billion and Walmart U.S. operating income grew $1.4 billion. The company also said a significant portion of the refunds went back into customer-focused initiatives such as price investment during the quarter. The gap between the refunds and the rise in operating income therefore cannot be read as what profit would have done without them. Operating expenses rose 0.11 percentage points as a share of net sales, which the company put down to higher self-insured general liability claims, depreciation from capital investment and associate healthcare costs. The chief financial officer said the operating income outlook reflects continuing to prioritise the second-quarter refunds into customer experience and price investments in the second half, and suggested looking at the second and third quarters together. Third-quarter guidance calls for net sales growth of 3.0 to 3.75 percent and adjusted operating income growth of 2.0 to 4.0 percent, both in constant currency.
Second-quarter tariff refunds and operating income growth ($ billions)
- Tariff refunds2.9
- Consolidated rise2.1
- Walmart U.S. rise1.4
$1.2 billion lost below the operating line
Operating income rose to $9,383 million, but income before income taxes fell 14.0 percent from a year earlier to $8,012 million. The line that made the difference is other gains and losses. This quarter it was a $1.2 billion loss; in the same quarter a year earlier it was a $2,708 million gain. The quarterly report explains that the line mainly reflects changes in the fair value of equity and other investments, driven by their underlying stock prices. Net interest fell from $675 million to $171 million. According to the earnings release this includes an interest effect tied to changes in unrecognised tax benefits, and excluding it, adjusted net interest was about $0.6 billion. The quarterly report also gives changes in unrecognised tax benefits as the main reason the effective tax rate fell from 23.3 percent to 18.5 percent. Consolidated net income attributable to Walmart fell 9.4 percent from $7,026 million to $6,366 million, and diluted earnings per share went from $0.88 to $0.80. Adjusted EPS as calculated by the company was $0.81, above the adjusted $0.68 of a year earlier, and this quarter's adjustments took out a $0.12 loss on equity investments and a $0.11 benefit from the tax matter.
Second quarter, from operating income to pre-tax income ($ millions)
New-store spending up 1.9 times, buybacks down
Capital expenditures in the first half came to $14,181 million, $2,772 million more than the $11,409 million of a year earlier. The allocation table in the quarterly report shows $7,659 million spent in the U.S. on supply chain, customer-facing initiatives, technology and other, $3,623 million on store and club remodels, and $1,087 million on new stores and clubs including expansions and relocations. The new-store share is 1.9 times the $577 million of a year earlier. Walmart International capital expenditures were $1,812 million. Cash from operating activities rose $1,358 million to $19,710 million, but capital spending rose by more, and free cash flow fell from $6,943 million to $5,529 million. Over the same period the company spent $5,104 million to repurchase 42.3 million shares, against $6.2 billion for 67.4 million shares a year earlier. Of the $30 billion programme approved in February, $25.1 billion of authorisation remained at the end of July. Short-term borrowings rose from $6,596 million at the end of January to $10,479 million at the end of July. The company raised its full-year capital expenditure plan from about 3.5 percent to about 4.0 percent of net sales.
How first-half capital expenditures of $14,181 million were allocated ($ millions)
- U.S. supply chain, technology and other7659
- U.S. store and club remodels3623
- U.S. new stores and expansions1087
- Walmart International1812
Common questions
- Did the $2.9 billion of tariff refunds Walmart received stay on as profit?
- Not all of it can be read that way. The refunds were recorded as a reduction to second-quarter cost of sales, but the company said a significant portion went into customer-focused initiatives such as price investment in the same quarter, and that it expects to keep prioritising price investment through fiscal 2027. Consolidated operating income grew $2.1 billion in the quarter.
- How big is eCommerce within Walmart's sales?
- About $29.4 billion of the $125,189 million in Walmart U.S. second-quarter net sales was eCommerce. Walmart International added about $9.9 billion and Sam's Club about $4.7 billion, and eCommerce net sales across the three segments grew $8.2 billion, or 23 percent, on the year. By the company's definition this includes orders placed online and fulfilled by stores, as well as certain advertising revenue.
- What did Walmart change in its full-year outlook in August?
- Net sales growth of 4.0 to 5.0 percent and adjusted operating income growth of 7.0 to 8.5 percent, both in constant currency, and adjusted EPS of $2.80 to $2.87. The original outlook from February was 3.5 to 4.5 percent, 6.0 to 8.0 percent and $2.75 to $2.85. The capital expenditure plan also went from about 3.5 percent to about 4.0 percent of net sales.
Sources
- 1.Second quarter fiscal 2027 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR, as of 2026-08-20
- 2.Quarterly report for the quarter ended 31 July 2026 (Form 10-Q) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR, as of 2026-08-28
Reference information compiled from public material. Not investment advice; decisions and their consequences rest with the investor.
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- It sits at 41 in its 52-week range.
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