Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Updates Q3 2027 Earnings Guidance

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) issued an update on its third quarter 2027 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of 0.620-0.640 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 0.680. The company issued revenue guidance of $183.1 billion-$184.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $188.2 billion. Walmart also updated its FY 2027 guidance to 2.800-2.870 EPS.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $103.84 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart has a 12 month low of $95.42 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $826.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.62 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer downgraded Walmart from a “market perform” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho set a $130.00 target price on Walmart in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.10, for a total value of $419,601.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 626,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,834,416.90. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,164 shares of company stock valued at $6,389,402. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.94 billion, exceeding consensus estimates of $0.74 and $186.62 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 5.9% year over year. Walmart quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth businesses remained strong: global e-commerce sales rose 23%, advertising revenue increased 38% and global membership revenue grew 17%. Gross-profit margin also improved, helped partly by tariff-related benefits. Walmart revenue growth release
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year fiscal 2027 outlook and expects to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to support price cuts, potentially strengthening Walmart’s value proposition with financially pressured shoppers. Walmart tariff refund price cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts view the selloff as a potential entry point, citing Walmart’s scale, international operations, digital growth, advertising business and margin gains. However, its roughly 36 times earnings valuation leaves less room for execution disappointments. Walmart post-earnings buying opportunity
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales increased just 2.6%, below expectations near 3.5% and the weakest growth in more than six years. Investors interpreted the result as evidence that higher energy costs and inflation are forcing consumers to reduce or reprioritize spending. Reuters Walmart sales miss article
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal third-quarter guidance was below Wall Street expectations: EPS of $0.62–$0.64 versus an estimated $0.68, and revenue of $183.1–$184.5 billion versus approximately $188.2 billion expected. The timing of Flipkart’s promotional event is also expected to reduce quarterly sales growth by more than 100 basis points. Investopedia Walmart guidance article
• Negative Sentiment: Gordon Haskett downgraded Walmart from “buy” to “accumulate,” reinforcing concerns that the stock’s premium valuation is vulnerable to slower U.S. sales growth and margin pressure from price investments.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Walmart by 20.5% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,413,236,000 after buying an additional 4,004,277 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1,991.9% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,549,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $249,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427,834 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 95.9% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,050,053 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $396,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982,295 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.