Walmart's E-Commerce Jumps 23%, Sales Up 5.9% as Outlook Raised

For e-commerce and omnichannel retailers, Walmart's quarter is a live case study in balancing physical and digital growth. Global e-commerce rose 23%, U.S. e-commerce grew 24%, and it now represents 23% of the U.S. business, yet in-store comparable sales slowed to 2.6%—the lowest in six years. The company is using its $2.9 billion tariff refund to cut prices on 11,000 items, a direct play for traffic and share in groceries and general merchandise.

Walmart delivered a mixed but ultimately constructive fiscal second quarter on August 20, 2026, raising its full-year outlook after results exceeded Wall Street expectations. Total revenue rose 5.9% year over year, while global e-commerce sales surged 23%, underscoring the company's continued digital transformation. Yet under the headline performance, U.S. comparable sales grew just 2.6%—the slowest in six years—highlighting the pressures of a tougher consumer environment and category-specific disruptions. The company attributed part of that comp slowdown to federal legislation capping prices on certain Medicare drugs, which dampened its wellness segment, a reminder that regulatory and policy shifts now flow directly into retail same-store metrics.

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Looking forward, Walmart expects full-year earnings per share in the range of $2.80 to $2.87, with sales projected to increase 4% to 5%, translating to a forecasted range of $741.7 billion to $748.8 billion.

The quarter also carried an unusual one-time benefit: a $2.9 billion tariff refund following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump. This refund boosted quarterly profit, and Walmart is deploying it strategically, temporarily lowering prices on 11,000 items, particularly in groceries and general merchandise. That move is consistent with Walmart's long-standing playbook of converting supply-chain or policy windfalls into traffic-driving price investments, though it also raises questions about the underlying earnings quality when the refund is excluded. CFO John David Rainey struck an optimistic tone, saying "we feel really good about the progress we're making," while CEO John Furner noted that as higher-margin digital businesses scale, they are changing the shape of Walmart's business.

The e-commerce trajectory is perhaps the most important structural signal. U.S. e-commerce revenue rose 24% and now represents 23% of Walmart's overall U.S. business—a figure that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Walmart's ability to combine its massive store footprint with online fulfillment, curbside pickup, and delivery is drawing in more affluent customers, particularly households earning over $100,000. That shift expands Walmart's addressable market beyond its traditional value-oriented base and supports margin expansion if digital scale eventually lowers fulfillment costs. However, the company's physical comparable sales slowdown indicates that gains from wealthier shoppers are not fully offsetting softness elsewhere.

Looking forward, Walmart expects full-year earnings per share in the range of $2.80 to $2.87, with sales projected to increase 4% to 5%, translating to a forecasted range of $741.7 billion to $748.8 billion. That sales guidance landed slightly below analysts' expectations, a subtle but meaningful signal that even the world's largest retailer sees some uncertainty in the back half. For investors, the key question is whether the 23% e-commerce growth and higher-income customer capture can sustain momentum without relying on tariff refunds or price cuts that may compress margins. The raised EPS outlook, buoyed partly by the refund, may not fully reflect the operating earnings power of the core business.