Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.570-0.580 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.640. The company issued revenue guidance of $164.7 billion-$166.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $166.8 billion. Walmart also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.500-2.600 EPS.

Walmart Trading Down 2.9 %

WMT traded down $2.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $94.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,726,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,415,939. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $758.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.79, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.25. Walmart has a 52-week low of $57.77 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is a boost from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 34.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.