Walmart stock (NASDAQ: WMT) fell 9.15% on Thursday after weaker-than-expected U.S. comparable sales and a disappointing third-quarter outlook outweighed fiscal second-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that beat Wall Street estimates.
U.S. comparable sales excluding fuel rose 2.6%, below analysts’ expectations of about 3.7% to 3.8%. Walmart also forecast third-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.62 to $0.64, compared with the $0.68 Wall Street consensus.
The retailer’s third-quarter revenue guidance implied about $185.6 billion at the midpoint, roughly 1.4% below estimates.
Walmart Q2 Earnings Beat Wall Street Estimates
The selloff came despite stronger-than-expected headline results for Walmart’s fiscal second quarter of 2027. Revenue increased 5.9% from a year earlier to $187.9 billion, topping the roughly $186.8 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.81 exceeded the consensus estimate of $0.74.
The weakness was more apparent in Walmart’s U.S. operating metrics. Store traffic increased 1.5%, slowing from 3.0% in the previous quarter, while average transaction value rose 1.1%, compared with a 3.1% increase a year earlier.
Health and wellness comparable sales also faced pressure from the Maximum Fair Price rules, which allow Medicare to negotiate prices for certain prescription drugs.
What Walmart Said About Its Q3 Outlook
Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey attributed part of the third-quarter outlook to the timing shift of a major Flipkart sales event and the redirection of tariff refunds toward price investments.
Walmart stock (NASDAQ: WMT) closed Thursday’s regular session at $103.84. The closing price put the shares 23.17% below their 52-week high of $135.16 and 8.82% above their 52-week low of $95.42.
The decline also came during a weaker session for U.S. equities. The S&P 500 fell 0.87%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) declined 1.32%, and the Nasdaq dropped 1%, as rising long-term Treasury yields and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July 2026 meeting weighed on stocks. The minutes showed three of the Fed’s 12 voting members favored an interest-rate increase.
Guggenheim had lowered its Walmart price target to $135 from $137 in the days leading up to the earnings report.
