AI is a major force shaping this year’s list—but it’s far from the only story.

World's Most Admired Companies

This ranking evaluates how Fortune 500 companies are deploying AI, and how technology leaders value those investments relative to industry peers.

Fortune AIQ 50

The corporations on our annual list of the world's 500 largest companies combined to generate $41.7 trillion in revenue over the past year.

Fortune Global 500

Almost $20 trillion in revenue—and a record-breaking $1.87 trillion in profits. Introducing the 2025 Fortune 500, the definitive list of the biggest companies in America.

F500 2025-Walmart

Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, offering both physical retail and e-commerce. In 2024, it was America's largest company by revenue. Groceries currently account for about 60% of its sales, but the company also sells a wide range of general merchandise, through Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club warehouse stores. Walmart also offers health care products and pharmacy services. Founded in 1962, the company changed its name from Wal-Mart Stores to Walmart in 2018.

Fortune 500

The top companies on our list have one thing in common: Staff largely trust leadership to see them as well-rounded people and reward them for a job well done.

GPTW_100BestCompaniesToWorkFor_2025-Walmart Inc._US1__20241210214006_5

Employees say: "Opportunities such as the recent Leadership Forums. This one knocked it out of the park! Also, mental health benefits—thank you for being a company that values the well-being of all associates and provides resources that aim to remove the stigma associated with mental illness and providing benefits for treatment."

Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For

The 300 companies on this year’s list brought in over $12.6 trillion in revenue for the latest 12 months, with the median revenue figure at $22 billion.

America's Most Innovative Companies

Leaders in all industries rely more than ever on Big Tech—and appreciate the giants that deliver, at scale, without drama.

The companies on this list are mobilizing the creative tools of capitalism to help solve social problems.

Walmart in 2017 became the first retailer to agree to hit science-based targets to reduce emissions. That same year, it launched Project Gigaton in 2017 to reduce, avoid, or sequester 1 billion metric tons, or a gigaton, of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. With more than 5,900 of its suppliers signing up to cut carbon emissions, Walmart hit its gigaton goal this year—more than six years ahead of schedule.

Change the World

See which workplaces made this year's list.

GPTW Retail Large 2024-Walmart Inc._US1__20240712204823_3

Employees say:"The People, no matter what your role in this company from Executive to Cart Collector, Associates working together; caring, sharing and compassion for everyone that works at Walmart and those who shop with us. Walmart is a GREAT PLACE TO WORK."

Best Large Workplaces in Retail

The corporations on our annual list posted aggregate revenues of $41 trillion for the second year in a row.

Industries included in the sector are automotive retail, general merchandisers, internet retail, and specialty retail.

Fortune Sector Leaders: Retailing

The Fortune 500, in its 70th year in 2024, ranks the biggest U.S. companies by revenue.

Creating a more empathetic workplace looks like staying loyal to workers, emphasizing D&I initiatives, and paying well.

100 Best Companies 2024-Walmart

The retail giant makes its first appearance on Fortune’s list thanks to its career progression opportunities. Approximately 75% of Walmart’s salaried store, club, and supply-chain management employees in the U.S. started in hourly positions. Store, distribution center, fulfillment center, and transportation office associates can apply for Walmart’s Private Fleet Development Program, where they earn their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and can make up to $110,000 in their first year as a Walmart private fleet driver. Walmart’s Live Better U program offers eligible part- and full-time hourly associates access to Walmart-paid formal education opportunities, including high school completion and college degrees, helping these associates save nearly half a billion dollars to date. The company’s annual pay equity analyses confirm that, accounting for relevant factors such as position, tenure, and location, associates are paid properly regardless of race or gender.&nbsp;

The 200 companies on this list are transforming industries from the inside out.

The 26th edition of the list shows how much esteem Big Tech giants command among other business leaders.

WMA 2024-Walmart

The 25th Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies list suggests that tech giants’ peers respect them as much as ever.

WMAC 2023-Walmart

The corporations on our annual list of the world’s largest companies delivered a record $41 trillion in aggregate revenues.

G500-2023-Walmart

With $611.3 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, Walmart tops the Fortune Global 500 for the 10th year in a row. The big-box retailer and growing e-commerce giant saw revenues rise 6.7% year over year, an increase of $38.5 billion. 
<ul> 
 	<li>In an effort to expand its health care business, Walmart inked a 10-year deal with insurance provider UnitedHealth to offer medical services in an initial 15 stores, along with a co-branded Medicare plan in Georgia.</li> 
 	<li>In November 2022 Walmart agreed to a $3.1 billion settlement related to the role its pharmacies allegedly played in overprescribing painkillers during the opioid epidemic. The company did not admit to any liability.</li> 
 	<li>Walmart’s digital advertising business grew 30% in 2022 to $2.7 billion; as its e-commerce platform grows, it’s looking to compete with other e-commerce players for advertisers’ digital spend</li> 
</ul>

The 300 companies on this list are transforming industries from the inside out.

CTW-2023-Walmart

The big-box retailer is one of the world’s biggest employers; in the U.S. alone, the company has about 1.6 million “associates.” Walmart’s Live Better U aims to put more of its hourly-wage workers on a ladder to higher salaries—by paying 100% of their costs for tuition and books in furthering their education. Since 2018, about 120,000 Walmart employees have enrolled in LBU, earning more than 19,000 diplomas, degrees, and professional certifications, including almost 3,000 bachelor’s degrees. Collectively, they’ve saved nearly $500 million in tuition. The program boosts Walmart’s odds of retaining rising talent: The company says about 75% of its U.S. salaried management started their careers in hourly positions. Walmart has also begun expanding certification and training programs for skilled trades like commercial truck driver, electrician, and optician—training that can lead to six-figure-salary jobs within Walmart even without a college degree.

The Fortune 500, in its 69th year in 2023, ranks the biggest U.S. companies by revenue.

F500 2023-Walmart

With $611.3 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, Walmart tops the Fortune 500 for the 11th year in a row. The big-box retailer and growing e-commerce giant saw revenues rise 6.7% year over year, an increase of $38.5 billion. 
<ul> 
 	<li>In an effort to expand its health care business, Walmart inked a 10-year deal with insurance provider UnitedHealth to offer medical services in an initial 15 stores, along with a co-branded Medicare plan in Georgia.</li> 
 	<li>In November 2022 Walmart agreed to a $3.1 billion settlement related to the role its pharmacies allegedly played in overprescribing painkillers during the opioid epidemic. The company did not admit to any liability.</li> 
 	<li>Walmart’s digital advertising business grew 30% last year to $2.7 billion; as its e-commerce platform grows, it’s looking to compete with other e-commerce players for advertisers’ digital spend.</li> 
</ul>

Just as it dominates our economy, Big Tech now dominates Fortune’s annual ranking of corporate reputation.

WMAC-2022-15-Walmart

Aggregate sales hit $37.8 trillion last year—an increase of 19%, the highest annual growth rate in the list’s history.

G500 2022-01-Walmart

The retail Goliath extended its streak at No. 1 on the Global 500 for a ninth consecutive year, bringing in more than $570 billion in revenue. Walmart successfully navigated a challenging 2021—sales grew by 2.4%, and profits inched up by 1.2%—owing in part to its e-commerce offerings: To better compete with delivery rivals as varied as Amazon and DoorDash, Walmart expanded its store-to-fridge delivery service, InHome; it also tested driverless delivery vehicles with Ford. Its click-and-collect curbside pickup service generated sales of $20.4 billion in 2021, a tripling over the past two years. The company’s e-commerce strategy is now in new hands: Walmart’s chief e-commerce officer, Casey Carl, retired and was replaced by Tom Ward in February 2022.

Fortune collaborated with the Diligent Institute to rank the most innovative boards of directors among S&P 500.

Modern Board 2022-Walmart

Retail titan Walmart is the world’s largest company by revenue, and the big names on its board reflect the company’s scale. The former CEOs of KPMG, Yahoo, PepsiCo, and AT&amp;T are among its directors; and Tom Horton, former chief of American Airlines, is Walmart’s lead independent director. 
 
Walmart has recently invested in <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://fortune.com/2021/07/27/walmart-pays-for-tuition-companies-that-cover-college-costs-war-for-talent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://fortune.com/2021/07/27/walmart-pays-for-tuition-companies-that-cover-college-costs-war-for-talent/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">employee education</a>, e-commerce partnerships <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://fortune.com/2021/07/28/walmart-e-commerce-tech-for-sale-small-medium-retailers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://fortune.com/2021/07/28/walmart-e-commerce-tech-for-sale-small-medium-retailers/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">with smaller retailers</a>, <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://fortune.com/2021/10/14/walgreens-pumps-another-5-2-billion-into-its-health-clinic-war-with-cvs-and-walmart/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://fortune.com/2021/10/14/walgreens-pumps-another-5-2-billion-into-its-health-clinic-war-with-cvs-and-walmart/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">health clinics</a>, and <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://fortune.com/2022/01/17/walmart-metaverse-own-nfts-crypto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://fortune.com/2022/01/17/walmart-metaverse-own-nfts-crypto/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Web3</a>, aiming to expand its e-commerce business (<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://corporate.walmart.com/media-library/document/q4-fy22-earnings-release/_proxyDocument?id=0000017f-0521-deb8-ab7f-372d1d5a0000" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://corporate.walmart.com/media-library/document/q4-fy22-earnings-release/_proxyDocument?id=0000017f-0521-deb8-ab7f-372d1d5a0000" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">which grew</a> by 11% in the fiscal year that ended in January 2022, after <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/28/walmart-to-sell-e-commerce-technology-to-smaller-retailers-.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/28/walmart-to-sell-e-commerce-technology-to-smaller-retailers-.html" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">growing 79%</a> the year before) and stay competitive in broader retail categories. 
 
Among active executives, Morgan Stanley’s senior client adviser and former vice chairman of wealth management Carla Harris; Sarah Friar, CEO of Nextdoor; and Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, round out the group. Also on the board is former Walmart chairman Rob Walton, a former company executive and son of Walmart founder, Sam Walton.

Fortune Modern Board 25

Fortune's annual list dedicated to the idea that business is uniquely suited to address society’s biggest challenges.

CTW.1122.Walmart-Insulin-ReliOn

It’s an absurd and uniquely American scandal that an estimated 1.2 million of the nation’s diabetics struggle to afford the insulin they need each day to survive. A month’s supply of the medicine can cost an uninsured individual—or an insured individual who hasn’t met their deductible—more than $1,000; even with rebates, American consumers are likely to pay four times more for insulin than those in other countries, according to a 2018 RAND study. The U.S. government has repeatedly failed to rein in those prices, most recently this summer with the scuttling of a proposal that would have capped the price at $35 a month for many patients. Walmart’s answer to this was launching a private label insulin, ReliOn, in partnership with NovoNordisk. In 2021, the retailer introduced two kinds of analog insulin, i.e. the type used by most people with diabetes in the US, starting at $72/vial, a fraction of the cash price for branded products—a 58%–75% discount, according to the company. The more affordable insulin dovetails with the massive retailer’s ambitions to make health care more accessible; it says cash-paying customers have so far saved more than $15 million on their insulin with ReliOn’s new analog products.

This year’s Fortune 500 marks the 68th running of the list.

F500 2022 Walmart

The retail Goliath extended its streak at No. 1 on the Fortune 500 for a 10th consecutive year, bringing in more than $570 billion in revenue. Walmart successfully navigated a challenging 2021—sales grew by 2.4%, and profits inched up by 1.2%—owing in part to its e-commerce offerings: To better compete with delivery rivals as varied as Amazon and DoorDash, Walmart expanded its store-to-fridge delivery service, InHome; it also tested driverless delivery vehicles with Ford. Its click-and-collect curbside pickup service generated sales of $20.4 billion in 2021, a tripling over the past two years. The company’s e-commerce strategy is now in new hands: Walmart’s chief e-commerce officer, Casey Carl, retired and was replaced by Tom Ward in February 2022.

After a year in which humanity leaned more heavily than ever on tech giants, see which companies topped Fortune's ranking of corporate reputation.

WMAC 2021-11-Walmart

Total revenue for the world’s biggest companies fell 4.8% to $31.7 trillion this year—the first decline in half a decade.

G500-2021-001-Walmart

<span data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Walmart had a banner 2020, with U.S. e-commerce sales up 79% as pandemic-weary customers consolidated shopping trips to fewer retailers and took advantage of the big-box giant’s strong curbside pickup offering. Its Sam’s Club and international businesses also boomed for similar reasons. With COVID-19 easing, the retailer is looking to protect those market share gains and has embarked on a $14 billion capital expenditure program for 2021, roughly 40% larger than last year’s, even as such spending compromises profits. The program will focus on priorities like an improved supply chain; automation, including in-store robots; grocery order fulfillment; and tech to improve shopping for customers. &quot;}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:14723,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;4&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:16777215},&quot;10&quot;:2,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:11}">Walmart had a banner 2020, with U.S. e-commerce sales up 79% as pandemic-weary customers consolidated shopping trips to fewer retailers and took advantage of the big-box giant’s strong curbside pickup offering. Its Sam’s Club and international businesses also boomed for similar reasons. With COVID-19 easing, the retailer is looking to protect those market share gains and has embarked on a $14 billion capital expenditure program for 2021, roughly 40% larger than last year’s, even as such spending compromises profits. The program will focus on priorities like an improved supply chain; automation, including in-store robots; grocery order fulfillment; and tech to improve shopping for customers.

These companies use the creative tools of capitalism—including the profit motive—to address society’s unmet needs.

CTW 2021-15-Walmart

<div> 
 
As the largest company in the world, with $524 billion in revenues and 2.3 million employees, when Walmart decides to do something, whether greening its supply chain or introducing COVID-safe protocols in stores, the impact is enormous—as is its influence on the world of business. That’s why the big box retailer so often lands on this list. And sure enough, when Walmart announced its debt-free education initiative this summer—offering free college tuition and books to 1.5 million associates (since 2018, it had offered them for $1/day )—Target, and then Amazon, with 1 million eligible employees between them, soon followed. This summer Walmart also rolled out a Race &amp; Inclusion curriculum to its hundreds of thousands of U.S. employees, one of several recent investments the company has made in a commitment to strengthen racial equity in its stores, supplier networks, and communities—which is to say just about everywhere in America. 
 
</div>

This year’s Fortune 500 marks the 67th running of the list.

F500-2021-01-Walmart

<span data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Walmart had a banner 2020, with U.S. e-commerce sales up 79% as pandemic-weary customers consolidated shopping trips to fewer retailers and took advantage of the big-box giant’s strong curbside pickup offering. Its Sam’s Club and international businesses also boomed for similar reasons. With COVID-19 easing, the retailer is looking to protect those market share gains and has embarked on a $14 billion capital expenditure program for 2021, roughly 40% larger than last year’s, even as such spending compromises profits. The program will focus on priorities like an improved supply chain; automation, including in-store robots; grocery order fulfillment; and tech to improve shopping for customers. &quot;}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:14723,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;4&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:16777215},&quot;10&quot;:2,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:11}">Walmart had a banner 2020, with U.S. e-commerce sales up 79% as pandemic-weary customers consolidated shopping trips to fewer retailers and took advantage of the big-box giant’s strong curbside pickup offering. Its Sam’s Club and international businesses also boomed for similar reasons. With COVID-19 easing, the retailer is looking to protect those market share gains and has embarked on a $14 billion capital expenditure program for 2021, roughly 40% larger than last year’s, even as such spending compromises profits. The program will focus on priorities like an improved supply chain; automation, including in-store robots; grocery order fulfillment; and tech to improve shopping for customers.

For an astounding 13th straight year, Apple claims the top spot in Fortune’s annual ranking of corporate reputation, based on a survey of almost 3,800 executives, directors, and analysts.

This year's Fortune Global 500 generated $33.3 trillion in revenues and $2.1 trillion in profits.

G500-2020-001-Walmart

After years of investment in its technology and stores, Walmart has indisputably emerged as a strong No. 2 to Amazon in U.S. e-commerce, with sales up 37% last year. But as the novel coronavirus pandemic showed, Walmart’s 4,600 U.S. stores have proved to be an effective weapon in its largest market by allowing curbside pickup for online orders at a time when shoppers want to limit time in stores—but who still want their orders quickly. (That sentiment is not likely to change anytime soon: In the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, the company reported "unprecedented demand" for goods that drove up U.S. comp sales by 10% and U.S. e-commerce sales by 74%.) The company's Sam’s Club division is finding renewed energy, too. Walmart is benefiting from focusing on select overseas markets, such as India and China, rather than competing everywhere.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 66th running of the list.

F500-2020-001-Walmart

After years of investment in its technology and stores, Walmart has indisputably emerged as a strong No. 2 to Amazon in U.S. e-commerce, with sales up 37% last year. But as the initial weeks of the novel coronavirus pandemic have shown, Walmart’s 4,600 U.S. stores have proved to be an effective weapon by allowing curbside pickup for online orders at a time shoppers want to limit time in stores—but still want their orders quickly. That sentiment is not likely to change anytime soon. Walmart Inc.’s Sam’s Club is finding renewed energy, too. Walmart is benefiting from focusing on select overseas markets, such as India and China, rather than competing everywhere.

As we face unprecedented collective challenges, cooperation has become a business superpower.

09.CTW20.WalmartB

The world’s largest company became an irreplaceable community resource as the COVID crisis engulfed the U.S. The retail giant offers drive-by pickup of online orders, an arena that Walmart pioneered, at about 3,300 of its 4,750 U.S. stores. The number of such orders more than quadrupled from mid-March through July, as consumers—particularly those over 50—scrambled for contactless shopping options. The surge sparked a need for new staff to fill curbside orders, and Walmart hired nearly 500,000 additional workers at the peak of the spring’s lockdowns—in part by partnering with the National Restaurant Association to recruit workers displaced from that battered industry. 
 
A strong pickup business can also have environmental benefits: A recent study by Bain estimates that pickup purchases generate 75% fewer CO2 emissions per item than purchases ordered online and delivered by mail. 
 
Walmart also acted fast to help customers access relief payments quickly and cheaply. People processed $434 million worth of stimulus checks via direct deposit to its MoneyCard prepaid debit cards; the company waived maintenance fees on the cards and began for the first time to pay interest on unspent balances. Walmart’s pandemic response went hand in hand with powerful financial performance: It has tallied two quarters of comparable-store sales growth near 10% and a near-doubling of e-commerce. It’s also earning rising scores on reputation surveys—and is making its sixth consecutive appearance on this list.

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2019 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune Global 500 generated $27.7 trillion in revenues and $1.5 trillion in profits.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 65th running of the list.

These 52 companies from across the globe are doing well by doing good.

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2018 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 64th running of the list.

Here’s our look at 57 companies that do well by doing good.

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2017 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 63rd running of the list.

Here’s our look at 50 companies that do well by doing good.

Here are the World's Most Admired Companies for 2016 as ranked in their industries. See who made the list.

This year's Fortune Global 500 generated $27.6 trillion in revenues and $1.5 trillion in profits.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 62nd running of the list.

Business insiders have spoken: Asked which companies they most admire, more than 4,100 executives, directors, and analysts chose these top 50 All-Stars.

The world's 500 largest companies generated $31.2 trillion in revenues and $1.7 trillion in profits in 2014. Together, this year's Fortune Global 500 employ 65 million people worldwide and are represented by 36 countries.

This year's Fortune 500 marks the 61st running of the list. Wal-Mart claims the top spot again. See who made the list.

Nike, Cisco, MasterCard, SABMiller, Vodafone, Google—and 45 other companies that are doing well by doing good.

Global business is back. After limping through a worldwide financial crisis and economic slowdown, the 500 largest companies ranked by revenues shattered all sorts of performance records in 2013: They racked up combined revenues of $31.1 trillion, up 2.5% from 2012, and profits soared 27% to nearly $2 trillion. China’s 95 companies (up from 89 last year) posted $5.8 trillion in revenues. The U.S. has four fewer companies on the list than last year but remains (for now) the country leader, with 128 corporations on the list—including No. 1 Wal-Mart Stores—reporting $8.6 trillion in revenues. 

Wal-Mart stayed on top as its sales crept closer to half-a-trillion dollars. Apple moved into the top five. And UnitedHealth Group continued its steady climb. 

Best Workplaces In Retail

Founded

Sites

Change The World

Impact Segment

Sector

Prior Year Rank

Culture rank

Process rank

Product rank

Years on list

Previous rank

Best Companies

Rank last year

U.S. employees

U.S. job openings

Year founded

Benefits

Subsidized childcare

Compressed work weeks

Option to work remotely

Minimum requirement in-office attendance (days per week)

Mental health coverage

Free mental health sessions (per year)

Free backup childcare time off (days)

Maximum $ amount covered for fertility services

Fully paid maternal leave (days)

Fully paid paternal leave (days)

Fully paid adoptive leave (days)

Maternal leave in addition to regular time off (days)

Paid days off for volunteering

Key Financials (last Fiscal Year)

Revenues ($M)

Profits ($M)

Assets ($M)

Total Stockholder Equity ($M)

Profit Ratios

Profit as % of Revenues

Profits as % of Assets

Profits as % of Stockholder Equity

Earnings Per Share (last Fiscal Year)

Earnings Per Share ($)

EPS % Change (from prior fiscal year)

EPS % Change (5 year annual rate)

EPS % Change (10 year annual rate)

Total Return

Total Return to Investors (last year)

Total Return to Investors (5 year, annualized)

Total Return to Investors (10 year, annualized)

Industry

Current All-Star Rank

Previous All-Star Rank

Industry Rank

Previous Industry Rank

Overall Score

Innovation

People Management

Use of Corporate Assets

Social Responsibility

Quality of Management

Financial Soundness

Long-Term Investment Value

Quality of Products/Services

Global Competitiveness

Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, offering both physical retail and e-commerce. In 2024, it was America's largest company by revenue. Groceries currently account for about 60% of its sales, but the company also sells a wide range of general merchandise, through Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club warehouse stores. Walmart also offers health care products and pharmacy services. Founded in 1945, the company changed its name from Wal-Mart Stores to Walmart in 2018.

Q4 2026

Q3 2026

Q2 2026

Q1 2026

Q4 2025

Q3 2025

Walmart (WMT): Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings

legacy

Walmart

walmart

At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. I will now turn the conference over to Steph Wissink, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Thank you, Steph. You may begin.

Welcome, everyone. Joining me today from our home office in Bentonville, are CEO, John Furner, and CFO, John David Rainey. We'll begin with highlights of the fourth quarter and full year, then we'll open the line for your questions. During the question and answer portion, we've invited segment leadership to join: Dave Guggina from Walmart U.S., Chris Nicholas from Walmart International, and Latriece Watkins from Sam's Club U.S. So we can address as many of your questions as possible, please limit yourself to one question. For additional detail on our results, including highlights by segment, please see our earnings release and supplemental presentation on our website. Today's call 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.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors identified in our filings with the SEC. Please review our press release and slide presentation for a cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements, as well as our entire safe harbor statement and non-GAAP reconciliations on our website at stock.walmart.com. That concludes my introduction. John, over to you.

Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. I'd like to start by saying thank you to our associates around the world in helping us deliver another year of strong growth. Across markets, our teams continue to demonstrate the power of our omnichannel model. Since the year began, I've visited great stores and clubs in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The automation of our supply chain is on track, we're gaining market share, and we have momentum in growth areas like Marketplace, advertising, and membership. Looking at our results for the quarter, revenue was up 4.9% in constant currency, including growth in e-commerce of 24%. Adjusted operating income grew even faster at 10.5%. All three segments grew profits faster than sales for the quarter. And we're doing a great job of managing inventory. That's so important in running our business day-to-day.

We ended the quarter with inventory up 2.6% or about half the rate of sales growth. Sales were strong across each segment of the business, and this includes sales of general merchandise, which grew on a global basis and was up low single digits for Walmart U.S., led by fashion. Fashion was a bright spot for us, both in-store and online. Driving a healthier mix of sales growth in our business is important to the strategy overall, so I'm pleased with the trends we're seeing. Across our customer base, spending continues to be resilient. In the U.S., we see the customer as choiceful in their spending. Again, this quarter, the majority of our share gains came from households making more than $100,000.

For households earning below $50,000, we continue to see that wallets are stretched, and in some cases, people are managing spending paycheck to paycheck. That said, even these households are emphasizing convenience nearly as much as price. Stepping back, when I look at the enterprise today, it's a portfolio of businesses anchored in growth, especially our digital channels, with an emphasis on having inventory close to the customer to maximize our delivery speed. Our associates have made this vision a reality, and I couldn't be prouder of them. They've been open to change, learn new skills, and they've pushed us to keep the customer and the member at the center of everything we do. Ultimately, what matters is how we show up for our customers and members. Did we serve their needs better today than we did yesterday? If so, we did our job.

How we approach getting better every day is what's important to me. We do that by living our purpose and values. That won't change. Our mission: to help people save money and live better, is as true today as it's ever been. It guides the strategy we've outlined, and that strategy is clear, and we're executing on it at a high level. This includes the allocation of capital, which remains consistent with how we've described it as a percentage of sales. We look at capital spending through the lens of return on investment. Every dollar we spend has to compete for the highest return. Walmart is widely known for value on a broad assortment of items and for being a company that people trust. Thanks to how we leverage our assets for a truly omnichannel experience, we're now known for ultra-fast delivery times and providing convenience.

The investments we've made in technology and supply chain help us deliver items even faster. They're paying off. Here in the U.S., customers using fast delivery, and that's delivery in under three hours, grew more than 60% for the year. We know that customers and members from around the world are more alike than they are different. They love great quality products, value for their money, and more often, they're turning to Walmart for speed of delivery on a broad assortment. Being people-led and tech-powered helps our associates to find better ways to serve customers and members with our growing assortment, faster delivery speeds, and experiences they love. The way we're using technology and AI is helping us create great customer solutions, reduce friction, simplify decision-making, and pinpoint where our inventory is, all while maintaining the trust we've earned from our customers and members.

We aren't just embracing the tools that are changing the way people shop, we're creating them. We're enhancing our shopping assistants, like Sparky, and building new experiences with partners like OpenAI and Alphabet that are shaping the future of Agentic commerce. Looking more closely at Sparky, we're seeing good momentum. Customer engagement is up, and the customers who use Sparky have an average order value that's about 35% higher than non-Sparky customers. I love how Sparky perfectly fits within our omni-channel strategy. It connects digital intent to fulfillment through forward-deployed inventory and 1.5 million associates here in the U.S. When Sparky builds a basket, we execute it through fast delivery, pickup, or in-store, turning AI engagement into immediate physical outcomes. As we expand Sparky across experiences like voice, in-store, and through services, we expect continued acceleration in customer adoption and the impact on commerce.

We've started with Sparky here in the U.S., but we know that winning in a connected world means we need to deliver consistent experiences across markets. And to do that, we need to focus on technology platforms that are built for a global business. The idea of build once, scale globally, makes us faster, lowers cost, and ensures consistency, and we'll use AI to layer on top of existing platforms, getting better leverage out of the assets we already own. This platform-centric approach helps us scale innovation consistently and reduce capital intensity. As I close, I'll say the pace of change in retail. It's accelerating. It's exciting. For Walmart, the future is fast, convenient, and personalized, and I'm challenging our teams to move even faster as the opportunities with AI become broader and deeper. I feel great about our future.

Over the past several weeks, I've talked with associates in Mexico, Canada, and across a number of cities here in the U.S., and I love what I'm seeing. The enthusiasm, the passion, the execution, all the things that make Walmart a great place to shop and a great place to build a career, they've been on display, and I can't wait to get out to more markets in the coming weeks. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to lead a business that has momentum, built on a strong foundation, and with a deeply experienced leadership team. And mostly, I'm excited about what's to come and the plans we have to grow the business as we look ahead. And John David, I'll turn it over to you.

Thanks, John. I also want to thank all of our associates for helping us deliver these results. If there's one thing I want you to take away from this call, it's that our teams are executing well, and our business model is delivering strong growth and incremental profits, even in the context of the highly dynamic operating conditions we and the rest of the retail industry are experiencing. We finished the year strong, with a quarter of broad-based share gains, continued e-commerce momentum, and Adjusted operating income growing at 10.5% in constant currency, which is over twice the rate of sales growth. The advantages of our omni-channel model and diversified profit streams are increasingly clear.

For the full year, we grew the top line by approximately 5% in constant currency, adding $35 billion in revenue, with sales exceeding $700 billion for the first time. We grew Adjusted operating income 5.4%, even with a 300 basis point headwind from increased claims expenses and navigating a bumpy tariff environment. This was the third consecutive year that we grew profits at a faster rate than sales growth. We're playing offense by reinforcing our customer and member value proposition, evolving our model, and delivering on our financial framework. Our strategy is working, and we're excited about the opportunities ahead. For the fourth quarter, consolidated revenue and constant currency increased nearly 5%, with Walmart U.S. comp sales up 4.6%. E-commerce sales were strong across markets, with growth up 24%.

We're using our unique assets, stores and clubs, DCs and FCs, and last mile delivery networks, to get orders to customers faster and more efficiently, remove friction from the experience, and accelerate our sales momentum. In Walmart U.S., e-commerce sales grew 27%, with 35% of store-fulfilled orders delivered in under 3 hours. In China, e-commerce grew 28% and represented more than 50% of the sales mix in that market. Flipkart is delivering orders in less than 15 minutes across more than 30 cities in India, and Sam's Club U.S. doubled their growth in club-fulfilled delivery sales. The increase in fourth quarter operating income was led by more than 26% growth in international, reflecting improved e-commerce economics, as well as lapping last year's strategic investments and nearly 7% growth in Walmart U.S. Several factors contributed to our operating profit growth. First, business mix.

As e-commerce drives the majority of our sales growth, we're improving e-commerce economics with increased contributions from business mix, most notably in higher margin areas like advertising and membership fees. Our advertising businesses globally increased 37%, including an acceleration in Walmart Connect in the U.S., up 41%. Importantly, we lapped the acquisition of VIZIO in December, so their performance will now be in our base. Consolidated membership income increased more than 15%, reflecting strength in Sam's Club in China, which grew over 35%. In the U.S., Walmart+ membership income was strong, up double digits, as our core offering, as well as newer benefits like our One Pay Cash Rewards credit card, continue to resonate with members. Sam's Club U.S. membership income grew more than 6% as members gravitate toward the omni-channel capabilities Sam's offers.

Notably, the combination of advertising income and membership fees represented nearly one-third of our operating income this quarter. Second is inventory management. Inventory increased 2.6% in constant currency, or approximately half the rate of sales growth for the full year. With our growing 3P Marketplace, we can better balance owned and third-party assortment, minimize markdowns, and improve our working capital. Inventory efficiency is also enabled by the tech, AI, and automation in our stores, clubs, and supply chain. In Walmart U.S., approximately 60% of stores are receiving some freight from automated distribution centers, and approximately 50% of e-commerce fulfillment center volume is automated. This enables better visibility into what inventory we own and inventory we can access, and also improved our labor productivity.

With a proximity so close to customers, we're increasingly leveraging stores as digital fulfillment nodes to move inventory faster and more efficiently than ever before. When you simplify our model, inventory and labor are our two largest costs. Technology-enabled productivity benefits are critical to our ability to grow our core omni business at lower marginal cost. We're extending these platform benefits from the Walmart U.S. to Sam's U.S., and we're at the early stages of deploying automation across our supply chain in select international markets. Third, merchandise category mix. This is an exciting one to call out, as it's been many years in the making, particularly in Walmart U.S. As we lean into lower prices through rollbacks and EDLP and grocery categories, we're helping customers unlock purchasing power for general merchandise. We've worked hard to mitigate grocery inflation, as tariff-related costs lifted prices across many categories.

We're seeing share gains in GM, and in fashion, we've had several quarters in a row of mid-single-digit sales growth. Importantly, the strategies that drove our results throughout FY26 are consistent with what we expect to support our financial framework in FY27. First, we have strong momentum across our businesses, most notably in digital. E-commerce sales grew nearly 25% this year and exceeded $150 billion for the first time, with Q4 representing 23% of sales mix. This is up 550 basis points from just two years ago. This sets us up uniquely well to serve customers however they want to shop with us, particularly as they adopt agentic commerce solutions. Second, we've demonstrated the durability of our model, especially in complex operating conditions. We're realizing the benefits of our diversified, growth-oriented global portfolio.

This has enabled us to grow underlying profits meaningfully faster than sales for each of the past three years. Our advertising businesses globally were up 46% this year to $6.4 billion, and membership fees exceeded $4.3 billion. Many of these initiatives are early in their maturity curve. We have a combination of profit drivers, including automation-related inventory and labor productivity, favorable business mix, and continued expense discipline to support continued investment and to drive faster operating income growth. Third, to orient us to move faster at lower cost, we're now aligned globally to leverage common platforms in tech, AI, and digital businesses. We believe this will result in our growth continuing to come at a much lower marginal cost than what it has historically. Now I'll discuss guidance.

Full-year constant currency sales are expected to grow between 3.5% and 4.5%, and operating income is expected to grow between 6% and 8%, with EPS in the range of $2.75-$2.85. Sales guidance reflects a continuation of underlying business drivers and share gains. It considers our efforts to mitigate food price inflation and the headwinds on sales growth from maximum fair pricing legislation and pharmacy. We expect e-commerce will continue to be the primary driver of growth, with modest increases from store and club sales across the enterprise. Operating income guidance reflects a higher level of confidence relative to prior year's original guidance, that we can deliver growth in the upper half of the range depicted in our framework.

Our goal is to outperform this guidance, but we believe it's prudent to start the year with a level of conservatism, given the backdrop is still somewhat unstable. We're assuming continued margin expansion, driven by favorable business mix, automation benefits and productivity, and less headwinds from merchandise category mix. The business continues to generate strong cash flow, with operating cash flow of $42 billion and growth in free cash flow of 18% in FY26. This provides flexibility to reinvest in the business, while at the same time, returning significant capital to shareholders. Given our confidence in the ability to continue to generate strong cash flows and consistency in our multi-year capital investment plans, our board authorized a $30 billion share repurchase program, our largest to date. For FY27, we expect capital expenditure levels to be approximately 3.5% of sales.

We're hitting the peak of annual spending levels on supply chain automation and store remodels. We're moving quickly on these projects as we see benefits to customer experience, business performance, and financial returns from these investments. Investments in AI are incorporated into our assumptions for capital spend. As you've seen from the announcements we've made, we're approaching AI development through partnerships. This lets tech companies do what they do best, develop innovative technology, and it provides us clarity to do what we do best, to translate the best of tech to retail experiences that create value for our customers and members and our enterprise.

In Q1, we expect constant currency growth in sales of 3.5%-4.5%, and operating income of 4%-6%, with EPS of $0.63-$0.65. Q1 operating income growth is expected to be lower than any other quarter in FY27, due in part to timing of expenses and the year-over-year tariff impacts that started in last year's second quarter. Importantly, our first half results are expected to be in the range of our full year guide. Recall also that we guide on a constant currency basis. If current exchange rates were to stay where they are now, we would expect an approximate 150 basis point benefit to reported sales growth and an approximate 200 basis point benefit to operating income growth in Q1.

For the full year, we would expect an approximate 70 basis point benefit to sales and an approximate 120 basis point benefit to OI. With that, we're ready to take your questions. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll now be conducting a question and answer session. If you'd like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two if you'd like to remove your question from the queue. For participants who are using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up the handset before pressing the star keys. Thank you, and our first question comes from the line of Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley. Please proceed with your question.

Hey, good morning, everyone. Hey, John. I wanna ask you, John, on agentic commerce. You mentioned it, and it's rapidly reshaping e-commerce as we speak. I realize a lot is still to be determined. I wanna ask how you're thinking about, first, customer traffic flows and loyalty related to agentic, and second, advertising and monetization.

Walmart (WMT) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Company Participants