MW Walmart's results were exactly what investors wanted ahead of CEO change and amid 'pockets' of slower spending

By Bill Peters and Tomi Kilgore

The big-box chain was leading the Dow and S&P 500 on Thursday, as same-store sales again topped estimates. The company also plans to switch over to the Nasdaq amid an AI push.

Walmart's stock turned sharply higher Thursday, as earnings beat expectations and the full-year outlook was raised amid strength in spending across all income cohorts.

Shares of Walmart Inc. surged on Thursday, dominating the major indexes, after the discount-retail behemoth hit a home run with its third-quarter results and nudged its full-year forecast higher, as wealthier shoppers continued to turn to the chain for bargains amid ongoing consumer-spending concerns.

During Walmart's $(WMT)$ earnings call, CEO Doug McMillon - who will be succeeded in February by John Furner, the company's head of U.S. operations - said that overall, the retailer saw "strength across income cohorts." But he said middle- and and upper-income households did the heavy lifting for the chain's growth in the United States.

"We continue to benefit from higher-income families choosing to shop with us more often," McMillon said.

"Middle-income households have been steady, and while lower-income families have been under additional pressure of late, we're encouraged by how our teams are meeting them with greater value across necessities and doing what we can to help them stretch their dollars further," he added.

John David Rainey, Walmart's chief financial officer, downplayed the risks overall to the business.

"There are pockets of moderation when we look by income cohort, and I don't want to sound alarmist in any way here, because again, overall, the business is very consistent, and that's our outlook into the fourth quarter," he said. "But when we look by low-income cohort versus middle- versus higher-income, we have seen some moderation in spending in the low-income cohort."

With Black Friday just around the corner, he said the holiday shopping season was off to a solid start. And he said that Walmart was better insulated from tariffs and other worries about the economy than its rivals, following several years of rising costs of living.

After the results, analysts praised Walmart's steadiness, as sales continued to fall at rival Target Corp.

In a research note, BMO analyst Kelly Bania called Walmart a "model of consistency" against "elevated, potentially overly optimistic expectations."

David Wagner, a portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, said in emailed commentary that Walmart's results were "exactly what investors would like to see after the CEO change from Doug McMillon to John Furner."

Shares of Walmart were up 6.3% on Thursday. Those gains made it the best performer in both the Dow and the S&P 500.

Walmart's stock is up more than 18% so far this year. By contrast, Target shares (TGT) are down around 38% over the same time frame.

Following several years of hefty price increases, more consumers have been shopping at the biggest retailers, which can use their size and resources to keep prices lower.

Retailers and analysts have talked increasingly this year about a bifurcated economy, where wealthier shoppers and asset holders continue to spend while others struggle. Heading into the results, there was also some concern that lower-income households would be particularly hurt by disruptions in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits - also known as SNAP or food stamps - following the government shutdown.

And amid the artificial-intelligence boom - or bubble, depending on who you ask - both Walmart and Target have turned to OpenAI to help consumers make purchases and shopping decisions. Analysts say Furner is well equipped to lead Walmart through a new era of AI-driven shopping.

Walmart on Thursday said it was beating its rivals as it gained market share in several categories, including grocery, health and wellness and general merchandise - that is, things that aren't groceries.

For the quarter to Oct. 31, comparable sales, or sales rung up at stores open more than a year, for Walmart's U.S. business grew 4.5% from the same period a year ago. The number of transactions was up 1.8% and the value of the average ticket rose 2.7%. That beat the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet for comparable-sales growth of 4%, to extend the streak of beats to 15 quarters.

E-commerce sales jumped 28% during Walmart's third quarter, with more customers paying for premium services, as 35% of all digital orders were delivered in under three hours. And sales of general merchandise, which tend to suffer when consumers pull back on discretionary spending, were "positive," with apparel, home and automotive products leading the way.

Total revenue increased 5.8% to $179.5 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $177.44 billion, as net sales grew 5.8% and membership and other income, which represented 1% of total revenue, increased 9%.

Net income jumped 34.2% to $6.14 billion, while adjusted earnings per share, which excludes nonrecurring items, of 62 cents topped the FactSet consensus of 60 cents.

Looking ahead, the company lifted its forecast for adjusted earnings per share to a range of $2.58 to $2.63 from a range of $2.52 to $2.62 and for net sales growth to a range of 4.8% to 5.1% from a range of 3.75% to 4.75%.

Don't miss: Who is John Furner, Walmart's new CEO?

If there was a negative in the report, the Sam's Club U.S. membership-based warehouse business saw comparable sales increase 3.8%, missing the FactSet consensus for a 4.9% rise, as transactions were up 3.9% but the average ticket dipped 0.1%. Rival Costco Wholesale Corp.'s $(COST)$ latest quarter saw U.S. growth of 5.1%.

To put the Sam's Club's business in perspective, net sales of $23.6 billion represented 20% of Walmart U.S.'s net sales of $120.7 billion.

Separately, Walmart said it would transfer the listing of its stock to the Nasdaq from the New York Stock Exchange to better reflect its digital prowess and its shift toward AI. After the switch takes place on Dec. 9, nothing will change for shareholders, as the ticker symbol will remain "WMT."

"Moving to Nasdaq aligns with the people-led, tech-powered approach to our long-term strategy," Rainey said in a statement on Thursday. "Walmart is setting a new standard for omnichannel retail by integrating automation and AI to build smarter, faster and more connected experiences for customers, while enabling our associates to deliver even greater value at scale."

Furner, during Thursday's call, said that AI could help nudge consumers into spending or reordering more and also manage things behind the scenes, like the company's catalog and merchandise selection.

"There are so many ways that we can serve customers, which is very different than where we were five to 10 years ago," he said. "We can serve people in minutes. We can keep you in stock at home. We have a really broad assortment, and having a digital agent that is there working for you, we think is going to be really powerful."

-Bill Peters -Tomi Kilgore

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November 20, 2025 16:13 ET (21:13 GMT)

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