Walmart shares tumbled roughly 9% Thursday — the retailer’s steepest single-day slide since July 2022 — after the company released fiscal second-quarter results that missed investors’ expectations on the top line. What happened - Walmart reported a quarterly rise in sales, but the headline sore point was the pace: U.S. comparable sales (stores and digital channels open at least 12 months) rose just 2.6%, the smallest quarterly gain the company has posted since 2020. That fell short of the 3.5% increase Wall Street expected, according to FactSet. - Despite the sales softness, Walmart’s operating income climbed nearly 30% year-over-year in the quarter, a boost the company attributed in part to tariff refunds. - Walmart said the 2.6% comp figure was partially offset by a 0.8% headwind in its health and wellness business after price caps on certain drugs took effect. - For the third quarter the company guided net sales to grow 3%–3.75% and adjusted EPS to be $0.62–$0.64 — targets that also missed analyst estimates and helped pressure the stock. Why it matters - The miss underscores simmering concerns about U.S. consumer demand and pricing power at big-box retailers. Walmart’s softer-than-expected comps add to a string of mixed results from other mass-market chains — though some peers have shown pockets of strength: Target reported a 3.8% increase in comparable sales, and TJX (owner of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls) posted a 4% comp gain. - Seasonal factors such as back-to-school shopping could lift retail revenue heading into the next quarter, but investors clearly wanted clearer evidence of durable growth now. Market impact and context - The stock is down roughly 15% over the past six months and more than 7% year-to-date. - For crypto-focused readers: weakness at a retail bellwether like Walmart can be a signal for broader consumer-spending trends and risk appetite — variables that often move risk assets including crypto. Slower consumer growth and earnings misses at large retailers can weigh on sentiment across markets. Bottom line Walmart delivered profit upside driven by one-time items, but the slower U.S. comparable-sales trend and below-consensus guidance prompted a sharp market reaction. Investors will be watching upcoming retail data and back-to-school sales for signs of a turnaround. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news