Walmart Stock Plunges 9% After Disappointing Same-Store Sales as Wall Street Slumps

Walmart shares plunged 9.2% on Thursday after the retailer reported disappointing US same-store sales, overshadowing better-than-expected earnings and revenue. The stock’s sharp selloff came as comparable sales grew just 2.6% in the second quarter, well below Wall Street’s 3.8% forecast and the slowest pace in over six years.

Same-store sales miss hits Walmart stock

Walmart (WMT) stock tanked by 9.44% over the last day to trade at $103.51. The stock decline came after the release of its corporate earnings with the slump erasing over $80 billion in Walmart’s market value.

Walmart generated $167.9 billion in quarterly revenue, up 5.9% year over year, while adjusted earnings reached $0.81 pers share, beating the estimates of analysts. However, investors focused on the weaker US sales performance, which provided a more concerning picture of consumer demand at the company’s stores.

The 2.6% comparable-sales growth included an 80-basis-point drag from Walmart’s health and wellness business following changes affecting drug prices. Aside from the impact, US comparable sales rose 3.4%, showing that the slowdown extended beyond the pharmacy business.

Walmart executives pointed to higher gasoline prices as another factor weighing on shoppers, with customers increasingly making trade-offs in their spending. The company expects over $2 billion in additional fuel costs this year, adding pressure to an already cautious environment.

Despite the sales slowdown, Walmart raised its full-year outlook and expects fiscal 2027 net sales to grow between 4% and 5%. The company also highlighted continued market-share gains and strong growth in e-commerce, advertising and membership businesses.

Wall Street slumps after impressive run

While Walmart stock fell by nearly 10%, the rest of Wall Street also went through a torrid patch on Thursday. US stocks suffered their steepest decline in three weeks as rising Treasury yields, higher oil prices and disappointing Walmart sales data rattled investors.

The Walmart selloff spread across the consumer sector, with Costco, Dollar Tree and Albertsons also falling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 704 points while the S&P 500 slid downwards as the buzz from its recent all-time high cooled. 

While US equities slid on Thurday, cryptocurrency markets rallied hard. Bitcoin (BTC) topped $71,000, sparking whispers of a sustained surge to $80K, while Ethereum (ETH) soared past $2,200.

At press time, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization sits at $2.57 trillion with daily trading volumes reaching $159 billion. However, Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff warned investors not be carried away by the latest rally, branding it a “fakeout.”