WMT
The big box keeps getting bigger
Walmart’s first-quarter numbers came in looking less like a sleepy retailer and more like a business with a few extra rocket boosters strapped on. Revenue hit $177.8 billion, up 7.3% year over year, or 5.9% in constant currency. Not exactly a couch-cushion kind of quarter.
The digital side of the aisle is doing the heavy lifting
The part investors should care about most? The online business is still doing the awkward-but-impressive transition from “retail giant” to “retail giant with a serious software habit.” Global eCommerce sales jumped 26%, helped by store-fulfilled pickup and delivery plus marketplace growth. That matters because digital traffic tends to pull in more orders, more data, and eventually more ways to monetize the same shopper.
And then there’s advertising, the favorite side hustle of modern retail. Global ad revenue rose 37%, while Walmart U.S. ads climbed 36%. Membership fee revenue also grew 17.4% globally, which is the kind of recurring income Wall Street likes because it shows up again next quarter without having to beg anyone to click “buy now.”
Profitability didn’t get left behind
Gross profit rate rose 6 basis points, led by Walmart U.S., and operating income increased by $0.4 billion, or 5.0% — 5.1% adjusted in constant currency. Translation: Walmart isn’t just buying growth with margin pain. It’s finding ways to grow and squeeze a little more juice out of the machine at the same time.
Why you should care
For investors, this is the classic Walmart story in 2026: the company still has the defensive retailer halo, but the real upside comes from the less-glamorous stuff underneath — e-commerce, advertising, and memberships. Big picture: if Walmart keeps turning its stores into fulfillment engines and its shoppers into recurring users, the boring stock starts looking a lot less boring.