Walmart announced $30 billion buyback plan but expects lower-than-forecast earnings per share for fiscal 2027
📖 Full Retelling
New Walmart CEO John Furner began his tenure on February 19, 2026, with a cautious outlook for the coming year, despite the retailing giant posting another quarter of steady sales growth driven by its expanding online business, reflecting the fragile state of the U.S. consumers amid rising costs and economic uncertainty. The company's performance showed resilience in the face of challenging economic conditions, with U.S. same-store sales rising 4.6% for the quarter ending January 31, surpassing analyst expectations. This growth was largely fueled by a remarkable 27% increase in U.S. online sales, marking the 15th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in the digital channel. Walmart's strategy of attracting wealthier customers to its e-commerce platforms has proven successful, with households earning more than $100,000 increasingly responsible for the company's market share gains over the past two years. The retail giant's overall revenue climbed 5.6% to $190.66 billion, slightly ahead of expectations, and earlier this month became the first pure-play retailer to reach a $1 trillion market valuation. Despite these positive results, Furner emphasized the challenges facing lower-income consumers, noting that 'for households earning below $50,000, we continue to see that wallets are stretched.' The company expects net sales to grow 3.5% to 4.5% for the coming year, below analyst forecasts of approximately 5%. Additionally, Walmart anticipates adjusted earnings per share of $2.75 to $2.85 in fiscal 2027, falling short of expectations of $2.96. To return value to shareholders, Walmart announced a new $30 billion buyback plan. The company's shares, which have risen 20% over the past year, closed down 1.4% on Thursday following the earnings announcement, reflecting investor concerns about the tempered growth outlook.
Consumer spending is the total money spent on final goods and services by individuals and households.
There are two components of consumer spending: induced consumption (which is affected by the level of income) and autonomous consumption (which is not).
American multinational retail corporation operating department stores
Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 19 other countries. It is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly from or through a wholesaler, and then sells in smaller quantities to consumers for...
Total value of a public company's outstanding shares
Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders.
Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by the number of common shares outstanding.
try{ var _=i o; . if(!_||_&&typeof _==="object"&&_.expiry U.S. stocks end lower after hawkish Fed minutes; Walmart guidance falls short Gold largely flat as investors weigh geopolitical tensions, hawkish Fed minutes Berenberg sees more than 50% upside in this small-cap software stock US said ready to begin war with Iran; Trump warns ’bad things will happen’ (South Africa Philippines Nigeria) New Walmart CEO begins tenure with cautious outlook after another quarter of steady sales By Reuters Stock Markets Published 02/19/2026, 07:04 AM Updated 02/19/2026, 04:36 PM New Walmart CEO begins tenure with cautious outlook after another quarter of steady sales 0 WMT -1.38% By Juveria Tabassum and Aishwarya Venugopal Feb 19 - Walmart ’s new CEO John Furner kicked off his tenure with a conservative outlook for the coming year, reflecting the fragile state of the U.S. consumer, even as the retailing giant posted another quarter of steady sales driven by its growing online business. Investors were expecting a guarded outlook from Furner, who took the helm earlier in the year. Walmart’s reach and reputation for low prices has kept it ahead of its competition during a challenging time for U.S. consumers dealing with rising costs and an uncertain labor market. "In the U.S. we see the customers being choiceful in their spending ... for households earning below $50,000, we continue to see that wallets are stretched," Furner said on a post-earnings call. The company’s U.S. same-store sales rose 4.6% for the quarter ending January 31, exceeding estimates, led by a 27% increase in U.S. online sales, its 15th straight quarterly double-digit increase in that area. Online sales have been driven increasingly by wealthier customers who had not been traditional Walmart shoppers, a cohort the company is increasingly banking on to drive growth. The company’s shares, up 20% over the last year, closed down 1.4% on Thursday. Walmart earlier this month hit $1 trillion in market valuation, the first...
