BENTONVILLE, Ark. — At a moment when most retailers are rattled by uncertainty stemming largely from the President Trump’s on-again, off-again application of tariffs, Walmart maintains a clear vision of where the company is headed and how it can best deliver value to customers. The combination of adherence to core principles and openness to change that has come to define Walmart was evident at last week’s annual meeting and associates celebration in northwest Arkansas.
“Against the backdrop of an evolving retail landscape and a dynamic external environment, Walmart’s brands are uniquely positioned to serve our customers and members by staying true to our purpose — helping people save money and live better -— and our commitment to innovation,” said chairman Greg Penner during the annual meeting, which was conducted virtually. “As we look toward the future, we are confident in our strategic direction and ability to build a stronger, more resilient company, creating long-term sustainable value for all of our shareholders.”
The company’s recent financial results support that conviction. For fiscal 2025, Walmart’s sales rose 5.1% to $681 billion. The increase was surpassed by an 8.6% gain in operating income, delivering on management’s goal of growing profits faster than sales. Walmart’s e-commerce business generated $121 billion in sales for the year, and, during the first quarter of fiscal 2026, it turned profitable for the first time.
“We’re scaling higher-margin businesses while investing in our associates and keeping our merchandise prices as low as possible in today’s environment,” noted Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer. “And improving our ROI even as we make investments to strengthen our company.”
The businesses that McMillon alluded to include the Walmart+ membership program, which provides customers with a range of benefits, including free shipping, free food and pharmacy delivery, streaming, and gas discounts; Walmart Connect, a retail media platform that links advertisers with consumers; and Walmart Data Ventures, which enables other businesses to leverage information gathered by the retailer. The company made the importance that it attaches to those operations clear when it gave chief growth officer Seth Dallaire, the executive who oversees those areas, the Sam Walton Entrepreneur of the Year award.
McMillon and other company leaders expounded on how technology-driven services are used to complement and extend the reach of the core retail business during the Walmart Associates Celebration at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. The event, which brings together employees from around the world, honors and renews the corporate culture established by Sam Walton.
“In the future we’ll be known for low prices, an assortment that feels limitless and relevant, and an experience that’s even more convenient and delightful,” McMillon said. “Technology will help us do all that.”
Digital tools facilitated the same-day delivery of 6.5 billion items by Walmart last year, he added, with almost half the orders fulfilled in under three hours. By the end of the year, the company will offer same-day delivery to consumers in 95% of the United States.
Walmart recently rolled out Sparky, a multi-modal shopping assistant for customers powered by artificial intelligence, and it is stepping up the use of drones for deliveries. In addition, the company is developing a program for automatic replenishment of products, enabling Walmart to “replenish homes like we replenish stores,” McMillon explained.
“In the future, whether it’s the way we serve our customers or the way we make things better for our associates, we’ll use technology to do some amazing things,” he said. “But it will be our humanity that differentiates us. The services we provide and the way we make people feel will be the most rewarding part of our work and the most impactful part of our business.”
Toward that end, Walmart has devoted resources to strengthen key aspects of the enterprise. “Of the items that we can control and influence, we would argue probably that the biggest single factors are the benefits that we’re seeing from the years of thoughtful strategic investments that we’ve made in the business — investments in associate wages, investments in price, investments in our technology infrastructure and our supply chain automation,” said chief financial officer John Rainey.
“These investments have translated into an increased value proposition for our customers and members. We’ve always been known for low prices, but we’re increasingly being known for convenience.”
Walmart has proven skillful in dealing with external factors that impact the business, first and foremost the threat of tariffs. The company indicated in May that, as a low-margin retailer, it could not absorb the cost of tariffs and would have to raise prices on some goods. The announcement drew a rebuke from Trump. Unlike Amazon, which backed down in a similar situation, Walmart has held its ground.
“I think we always have had to be thoughtful about what we say, and that that’s still true,” McMillon explained, “but we’re super practical people. We’re just trying to be good retailers. And so when we had the Q1 earnings release, we wanted to communicate what we’re seeing. We have a responsibility to do that for shareholders, and I think we did it appropriately. We’ll do that on all the issues that come up.”
