Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.570-0.580 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.640. The company issued revenue guidance of $164.7 billion-$166.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $166.8 billion. Walmart also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.500-2.600 EPS.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $2.78 on Friday, hitting $94.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,726,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,415,939. Walmart has a 12 month low of $57.77 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $758.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. This is a boost from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.40.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.