📈 Walmart Warns of Higher Prices Amid Tariffs

🛒 Key Highlights

• Walmart will begin raising prices in late May due to lingering U.S. tariffs.
• Executives say some cost increases are unavoidable despite supplier negotiations.
• Walmart shares fell 2.3% after declining to issue a Q2 profit forecast.

📊 Financial Snapshot

• Q1 Net Sales: $165.6 billion (+2.5%)
• Same-store Sales: +4.5% (vs. 3.9% expected)
• Adjusted EPS: $0.61 (vs. $0.58 expected)
• U.S. eCommerce: +21% (global +22%)

📉 Tariff Effects

• Walmart is the largest U.S. container goods importer, heavily exposed to Chinese imports.
• Rising costs are hitting general merchandise more than food.
• Some imported food items (e.g., bananas, avocados) are hard to substitute or offset.

💡 Mitigation Strategies

• Working with suppliers to replace tariffed materials (e.g., fiberglass instead of aluminum).
• Balancing price increases carefully to manage consumer demand elasticity.

📉 Economic Concerns

• U.S. consumer sentiment declined for the 4th straight month in April.
• GDP contracted in Q1 for the first time in 3 years.
• Other retailers like Birkenstock are also raising prices globally.

📅 Outlook

• Walmart maintains full-year forecast for FY2026: EPS $2.50–$2.60, sales growth 3–4%.
• Withheld Q2 earnings forecast due to tariff uncertainty and operating volatility.