Walmart shares jumped roughly 6.5% after the retail giant raised its full-year sales and earnings forecast for the second consecutive quarter, signaling robust consumer spending at its stores.
A shopper pushes a cart outside a Walmart store in San Leandro, California, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
### Defying The Trend
The company beat Wall Street estimates with adjusted earnings of 62 cents per share on revenue of $179.50 billion, a performance that directly fueled the upgraded outlook projecting full-year net sales growth between 4.8% and 5.1%. These results stand in stark contrast to cautious updates from competitors like Target and Home Depot, positioning Walmart as a beneficiary of a selective consumer environment. Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey confirmed the company is gaining “value-seeking” customers across all income levels, with particularly pronounced market share growth in the upper-income segment. This is not accidental. It is a direct result of strategic execution. Global e-commerce sales surged 27%, powered by a 28% jump in the U.S. driven by store-fulfilled delivery and a rapidly expanding advertising business that grew 53% globally. The company’s ability to deliver to 95% of U.S. households in under three hours is a significant competitive advantage, with revenue from these faster deliveries increasing 70% year-over-year. In-store metrics were equally strong. U.S. comparable sales rose 4.5%, beating expectations, as customer traffic increased 1.8% and the average ticket grew 2.7%. Even with what the CFO called “real” pressure from tariffs, the company has managed costs, aided by price relief in key food categories and sales growth of over 5% in higher-margin segments like fashion. The strong quarter comes just before a CEO leadership transition and a move for its common stock listing from the NYSE to the Nasdaq, underscoring a period of significant operational and corporate momentum.
The retailer’s ability to attract higher-income households while retaining its core base suggests its value and convenience model is a powerful defense against broader economic uncertainty.
