Walmart Slides 4% as Slowing U.S. Comps Overshadow the Beat

Walmart shares fell sharply Thursday even after the retailer beat on both lines, with adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share topping the $0.74 consensus and revenue rising 5.9% to $187.9 billion. The stock, which traded near $114 before the report, dropped as much as 7% premarket before paring losses through the session.

The culprit was comparable sales. Walmart-only U.S. comps excluding fuel rose 2.6%, well short of the roughly 3.7% analysts expected and the slowest quarterly sales growth in more than six years. Investors looked past a raised full-year outlook — fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance moved up to $2.80–$2.87 from $2.75–$2.85, with constant-currency sales growth of 4%–5%.

For a stock that entered the print priced for perfection, the read-through was simple: guidance increases could not offset evidence that the U.S. consumer engine is decelerating. The reaction also weighed on the broader retail complex a day after Home Depot's beat had set a more optimistic tone.