Walmart Stock Slumps as a Soft Forecast Outweighs Solid Results
Walmart Stock Slumps as a Soft Forecast Outweighs Solid Results
Aaron McDadeThu, August 20, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC
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Thursday’s slump dragged Walmart shares into negative territory for the year.Credit: Scott Olson / Getty ImagesKey Takeaways -
Walmart shares plunged Thursday after the retailer issued a weaker-than-expected forecast for the third quarter.
Second-quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations, and Walmart raised its full-year guidance.
Walmart shares are sliding after the nation’s largest retailer gave a disappointed forecast for the third quarter.
Walmart (WMT) shares were down nearly 10% in recent trading. The retailer said it expects third-quarter sales to rise by 3% to 3.75% year-over-year, with adjusted EPS between 62 and 64 cents, below the 4.9% revenue growth and EPS of 67 cents analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for.
The weaker-than-anticipated outlook for the current quarter overshadowed solid second-quarter results and higher guidance for the year. Walmart lifted its full-year forecast to sales growth of 4% to 5%, up from 3.5% to 4.5% previously, along with adjusted EPS of $2.80 to $2.87 compared to the prior range of $2.75 to $2.85.
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Walmart CFO John David Rainey told CNBC that the company is eligible to receive about $2.9 billion in tariff refunds, which he expects to help Walmart offset higher costs and support lower prices for consumers.
The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 81 cents on a 6% jump in revenue to $187.94 billion in the second quarter. Both measures came in above the Visible Alpha consensus. Comparable sales growth came in at 3.1% across Walmart’s U.S. locations, below the 3.7% analysts projected.
Thursday’s slump dragged Walmart’s stock back into negative territory for the year.
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Source: “AOL Money”
