Walmart Inc. posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.81 for its fiscal second quarter, exceeding the $0.74 consensus estimate by 9.5% and marking a 9.46% surprise. Revenue totaled $187.9 billion, slightly above the $186.75 billion estimate. Global e-commerce sales rose 23%, while Walmart Connect advertising revenue surged 43%. However, U.S. comparable-store sales grew 2.6%, lagging the Street's 3.8% forecast by 120 basis points.
Average spending per transaction slowed to 1.1% growth from 3.1% in the prior period, reflecting softer consumer demand. The retailer raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $2.80 to $2.87, up from $2.75 to $2.85, but projected third-quarter EPS of $0.62 to $0.64, below the $0.68 consensus.
Shares fell 6.04% in pre-market trading to $107.40 after the report, extending a three-month decline of 12.65%. At midday, the stock was down 9.39% to $103.57. Walmart closed at $114.30 on Wednesday, trading near 40 times earnings with a dividend yield below 1%.
Analysts were mixed on the results. Citi Research, which had projected EPS of $0.79, accurately forecast net sales growth of 6.3%—above Walmart's guidance of 4.9% to 5.9%. The firm also anticipated a 40-basis-point benefit from tariff refunds, though the actual operational lift contributed 750 basis points to adjusted operating income. Jefferies maintained its $0.74 EPS estimate, matching the consensus. Barclays, which had issued Overweight ratings in November 2025 with a $108 price target, saw its target fall below the stock's closing price.
BofA Securities and BMO Capital had price targets of $125, while the broader market reacted to softer guidance. The 30-year Treasury yield rose to 5.22% on Thursday morning, reflecting ongoing concerns over interest rate policy after the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes showed three of 12 voting members supported a quarter-point rate hike.
