When Walmart, the largest retailer in the U.S., abruptly withdrew its first-quarter operating income guidance last week, the message was unmistakable: the tariff storm is shaking the foundations of retail planning.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT ) 2025 Walmart Investment Community Meeting and Q&A Session Call April 9, 2025 9:00 AM ET Company Participants Doug McMillon - President & CEO John David Rainey - EVP & CFO Kathryn McLay - President & CEO, Walmart International Ignacio Caride - President & CEO, Walmex Christina Zhu - President & CEO, Walmart China Kalyan Krishnamurthy - CEO, Flipkart Chris Nicholas - President & CEO, Sam's Club Julie Barber - EVP, General Merchandising, Walmart U.S. Tom Ward - EVP, End-to-End COO, Sam's Club Diana Marshall - EVP and Chief Experience Officer, Sam's Club Todd Sears - SVP & CFO, Sam's Club John Furner - EVP, CEO & President, Walmart US Latriece Watkins - EVP & Chief Merchandising Officer, Walmart U.S. David Guggina - EVP, Supply Chain Operations, Walmart U.S Seth Dallaire - EVP & CRO, Walmart U.S. Stephanie Wissink - SVP, IR Suresh Kumar - Global CTO, Chief Development Officer & EVP Conference Call Participants Simeon Gutman - Morgan Stanley Robby Ohmes - BofA Securities Greg Melich - Evercore ISI Peter Benedict - Baird Brad Thomas - KeyBanc Scot Ciccarelli - Truist Michael Lasser - UBS Chris Horvers - JPMorgan Zhihan Ma - Bernstein Karen Short - Melius Research Joe Feldman - Telsey Advisory Group Kelly Bania - BMO Rupesh Parikh - Oppenheimer Oliver Chen - TD Cowen Operator Today's event is being recorded and management may make forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements.
Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT, ETR:WMT) has reiterated its full-year fiscal 2026 guidance during its recent Investor Day in Dallas, maintaining a confident outlook despite expecting a more complex macroeconomic environment and widening its EBIT forecast for the first quarter. While the company kept its Q1 sales guidance unchanged, it expanded the expected EBIT growth range, citing a soft start in general merchandise, a spike in casualty claims of about $200 million, and flexibility to respond to tariff-related pricing shifts.
WMT is focusing on growth through investments in key areas while reaffirming its Q1 outlook despite challenges from rising tariffs and market volatility.
The stock market is cooling off again today after a big sigh of relief yesterday.
As global markets gyrated over tariffs, Walmart executives gathered with their biggest investors in Dallas this week and worked to project calm.
Executives of the largest private employer in the U.S. are still confident in the business despite growing concerns from the business community around tariffs.
Executives at the largest retailer in the United States acknowledged the new environment, but told investors that they were confident in the company's strategy.
Major corporations from retail to travel have already started to shift business plans as President Donald Trump's tariff plans against major trading partners continues to escalate.
Walmart is bringing back Walmart+ Week with exclusive member perks, including fuel savings, streaming bonuses, fast-food deals, free delivery and Walmart Cash.
Walmart is at risk of taking a hit from Trump's tariffs, mainly on Asian countries that supply everything from clothing to toys to the retailer.
The warehouse club is speeding up its expansion plans, even as tariffs rattle Wall Street and injected fresh uncertainty about the economic outlook.