Walmart Stock Falls Thursday as US Same-Store Sales Growth Hits Six-Year Low

Walmart shares fell Thursday as investors continued to weigh the company's strong e-commerce expansion against broader margin concerns in its core retail business.

Here's what investors need to know.

Walmart stock is under pressure. Why is WMT stock moving lower?

Earnings Beat Overshadowed by Slowest US Same-Store Sales Growth in Six Years

In its fiscal Q2 2027 earnings report released last week, Walmart posted total revenue of $187.9 billion and adjusted earnings per share of 81 cents, both beating Wall Street expectations.

Management also raised its full-year fiscal 2027 net sales growth guidance to 4.0%–5.0%, with adjusted EPS guidance lifted to $2.80–$2.87. However, US comparable store sales rose just 2.6%, missing the 3.8% consensus estimate and marking the retailer's slowest same-store sales growth in nearly six years, which dampened investor enthusiasm.

The store-level slowdown has raised concerns about persistent inflationary pressures, weak discretionary consumer spending, and competitive pressure from Amazon in key categories such as apparel.

Management Focuses on High-Margin Flywheel and Price-Cut Strategy

During last week's fiscal Q2 earnings call, CEO John Furner addressed consumer behavior and the company's strategy of maintaining price leadership through permanent price reductions:

"Price investments are carefully managed to maximize returns, and we plan to make them permanent in areas that drive share gains... We continue to track the volume and share growth generated by price cuts, and their permanence is determined by performance metrics."

CFO John David Rainey, speaking on the August 20 call, emphasized the fundamental shift in profit drivers despite pressure on store traffic, highlighting the rapid expansion of high-margin, non-retail platforms:

"Profit growth is increasingly driven by platform businesses... While volume growth is immediate, the full sales impact accumulates gradually as price-cut initiatives gain momentum."

WMT Stock Edges Lower Thursday

WMT shares traded down 1.42% as of Thursday's close, at $102.86.