Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) delivered a powerhouse third-quarter performance on Thursday, beating Wall Street expectations and raising its full-year guidance. However, amidst reports of strong revenue growth, executives cautioned that while grocery prices are stabilizing, tariffs remain a lingering variable that could impact the cost of household items.
Check out WMT’s stock price here.
Tariff Impact ‘Less Than Expected’ But Prices Could Rise
During the earnings call, Walmart leadership noted that overall inflation across the business is currently running in the “low-1% range.”
While this signals a significant cooling from previous highs, the company indicated that imported non-food goods—household items, electronics, and apparel—remain vulnerable to trade-related cost pressures compared to groceries.
Incoming CEO John Furner offered a cautiously optimistic assessment, telling analysts that the retailer has successfully navigated the trade landscape so far. “We have seen less impact than what we thought we would have expected earlier in the year,” Furner said.
He highlighted that the company has seen significant “relief across key food categories,” providing breathing room for budget-conscious shoppers.
The primary exception in the grocery aisle remains beef, which executives attributed to commodity cycles rather than trade policies.
See Also: Walmart Q3 FY26 Earnings Call Transcript
Supply Chain Discipline Helps WMT Navigate Inflation
Despite this food relief, the threat to general merchandise persists. To shield customers from potential price hikes caused by tariffs, the company is leaning heavily on supply chain discipline. Furner credited the team with resisting upward price pressure by “managing inventory levels and product mix” effectively.
“The team has done a really nice job managing inventory… inventory closed the quarter up 2.6%, roughly half the rate of what we're growing sales,” Furner noted.
This tight control allows the retailer to maintain margins without immediately passing all tariff costs to the consumer. To further entice shoppers, the company currently has roughly 7,400 active “rollbacks,” or temporary price cuts, in effect.
Walmart Q3 Earnings Snapshot
Financially, Walmart appears well-positioned to absorb these shocks. The retail giant reported quarterly sales of $179.5 billion, a 5.8% increase year-over-year, driven largely by upper-income households prioritizing value.
The company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 62 cents, beating the Street view of 60 cents.
Reflecting this momentum, Walmart raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings outlook to a range of $2.58 to $2.63 per share.
Walmart Outperforms S&P 500 In 2025
WMT shares rose 19.01% year-to-date, outpacing gains in the S&P 500 index, which rose by 11.42%. The shares closed 6.46% higher at $107.11 apiece on Thursday and dropped 0.21% in after-hours. Over the year, the stock was up by 21.18%.
It maintained a stronger price trend over the medium and long terms and a weak trend in the short term, with a solid quality ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga Edge’s Stock Rankings, are available here.
The futures of the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones indices were trading higher on Friday, after a sharp sell-off on Thursday.
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