Year-End Earnings Beat Wall Street’s View by a Penny

By Arkansas Black Vitality Staff

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Feb. 19, 2026 – After recently reaching a record $1 trillion in market value, moving its stock trading to the tech-friendly Nasdaq, and hiring a new CEO late last year, the world’s largest retailer ended 2025 exceeding Wall Street’s expectations for year-end and fourth-quarter sales and earnings.

In his first earnings report since becoming the company’s top chief executive, John Furner announced that Walmart Inc. finished the 2026 fiscal year on a high note, surpassing $700 billion in annual revenue for the first time. The retail giant also reported strong fourth-quarter growth, he said, driven by a significant rise in e-commerce and notable market share gains among higher-income households.

For the period ending Jan. 13, the Bentonville retail giant reported fourth-quarter earnings of 53 cents, or operating income of $8.7 billion, compared to last year’s profits of 65 cents per share, or $7.9 billion. On an adjusted basis, Walmart reported fourth-quarter earnings of 74 cents per share, one penny above Wall Street estimates, according to FactSet.

Global total sales reached $190.7 billion, a 5.6% increase from the same period in 2024. Across all business segments, e-commerce sales surged 24%, driven by store-fulfilled delivery and a thriving third-party marketplace, company officials said.

During the company’s morning conference call with Wall Street analysts, joined by his new executive team and CFO John Rainey, Furner emphasized that the company is embracing a new retail era centered on speed and artificial intelligence.

“The pace of change in retail is speeding up. It’s exciting. And our financial results show that we’re not just adapting to this change, we’re leading it,” said Furner, who succeeded former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on Nov. 14.

In highlighting Walmart’s strong sales across all business segments, including U.S. stores, Sam’s Club, and the company’s growing international markets, Furner noted that most of the company’s fourth-quarter gains came from households earning over $100,000.

Still, Furner said the world’s largest retailer, which crossed the $1 trillion market cap threshold early this month, remains acutely aware of economic pressures on lower-income families. “For households earning below $50,000, we continue to see that wallets are stretched and, in some cases, people are managing spending paycheck to paycheck,” he said.

Changing topics, Rainey highlighted the Arkansas retail conglomerate’s continued financial discipline and the strength of its diversified profit streams during the conference call.

“Our strategy is working, and we are excited about the opportunities ahead,” Rainey stated. “We’ve demonstrated the durability of our model, especially in complex operating conditions. This has enabled us to grow underlying profits meaningfully faster than sales for each of the past three years.”

On an annual basis, Walmart’s total worldwide sales reached a record $713.2 billion, an increase of 4.7% from 2024. The company’s emerging global advertising business, including VIZIO and Walmart Connect, grew 46% to nearly $6.4 billion. During the historic year, which also included the company’s move into its new global headquarters in Bentonville in early 2025, the company repurchased 85 million shares for $8.1 billion and increased its annual dividend to 99 cents per share.

Despite a strong finish to the fourth quarter and 2025, Walmart offered a cautious yet stable outlook for the upcoming fiscal year, signaling ongoing investment in automation and “agentic commerce” through its AI assistant, Sparky.

Rainey explained that the guidance reflects caution given current economic signs like student loan delinquencies and a possible “hiring recession.” However, the company is “playing offense” by approving its largest-ever $30 billion share repurchase program and continuing to grow its automated fulfillment capabilities.

According to Furner and Rainey, Walmart’s fourth quarter was characterized by “broad-based share gains” across all operating segments, with each division increasing profits more quickly than sales.

At the company’s nearly 5,000 brick-and-mortar stores across the U.S., net sales reached $123.5 billion, a 4.6% increase from the previous year. Operating income at the company’s U.S. stores grew by 6.6% to $7 billion, reflecting better e-commerce economics and strong inventory management.

Overall, Walmart U.S. store e-commerce sales increased by 27%, and 35% of store-fulfilled online orders are now delivered in less than 3 hours. While grocery remained a key driver, general merchandise experienced “mid-single-digit sales growth” for several straight quarters, mainly led by fashion.

Following Walmart stores, the company’s International segment stood out for profit growth, aided by improved digital unit economics and the “build once, scale globally” technology strategy, said Furner. For the three-month period, Walmart reported net overseas sales of $35.9 billion, an increase of 11.5%. In constant currency, sales grew 7.5%.

Growth was primarily led by China, Walmex in Mexico and Central America, and Flipkart in India. In China, e-commerce now accounts for over 50% of sales. Additionally, Walmart’s operating income rose 36.0% (26.5% in constant currency), driven by lower e-commerce losses.

At Sam’s Club, net sales (excluding fuel) increased by 4% to $21.7 billion. Operating profits also rose 3.8% to $600 million, slightly outpacing sales growth. Over the year, the Costco competitor doubled its growth in club-fulfilled delivery sales, with 60% of members now able to receive delivery within three hours.

According to company officials, Walmart’s warehouse membership club is focused on “curation and quality,” utilizing frictionless technologies such as Scan & Go and exit arches to improve the member experience.

During the question-and-answer segment of the morning conference call, Furner also introduced the new members of his executive team to Wall Street. They include Dave Guggina, who was named president and CEO of Walmart US; Chris Nicholas, who takes over as chief executive of Walmart International; and Latriece Watkins, now president and CEO at Sam’s Club US.

At Thursday’s closing bell, Walmart’s stock closed down $1.75 at $124.87 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. While exceeding estimates by one penny, the company’s cautious guidance for the remainder of 2026 led to 1.4% decline in the retailer’s share price, analysts said.