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Full Breakdown

Walmart Reports Slowest U.S. Same-Store Sales Growth in Six Years Amid Pharmacy Price Caps and Fuel-Cost Pressure

8/20/2026, 7:54:07 PM

Core Findings

U.S. comparable sales rose 2.6% in the quarter ended July 31, the smallest increase since 2020.

Transport Topics

Adjusted earnings per share reached $0.81, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74, while revenue grew about 5.9% to roughly $187.9 billion.

Transport Topics

The company lifted its full-year sales outlook to 4-5% growth and adjusted EPS to $2.80-$2.87, yet shares fell 6-9% after the release.

Walmart's U.S. Same-Store Sales Hit Six-Year Low; Full-Year EPS Guidance Also Misses Market Expectations — BigGo Finance

Background & Context

New federal negotiations on Medicare drug pricing introduced “maximum fair price” caps, lowering pharmacy margins and creating a 0.8-percentage-point drag on U.S. comparable sales.

Walmart's U.S. Same-Store Sales Hit Six-Year Low; Full-Year EPS Guidance Also Misses Market Expectations — BigGo Finance

Gasoline prices above $4 per gallon in July heightened household cost pressure, a factor the company cites for consumer trade-offs.

Walmart's U.S. Same-Store Sales Hit Six-Year Low; Full-Year EPS Guidance Also Misses Market Expectations — BigGo Finance

Walmart began receiving $2.9 billion in tariff refunds from a 2022 Supreme Court ruling; less than $100 million remains pending.

Data & Statistics

Revenue: $187.94 billion (FactSet consensus $186.62 billion).

Associated Press

U.S. comparable sales: 2.6% YoY; 3.4% when the health-and-wellness category is excluded.

Walmart shares fall on signal that consumers are pulling back on spending

E-commerce growth: 23-24% globally and in the United States.

Tariff-refund benefit: added 96 basis points to gross margin; incremental fuel-cost headwinds projected at $2 billion.

Walmart raises full-year outlook despite slower U.S. sales growth

Net income: $6.37 billion; adjusted EPS $0.81.

RTE (Radio Television of Ireland)

Official Statements & Responses

CFO John David Rainey said the business remains strong and that the tariff refunds will be used to lower consumer prices, with the impact expected in the third quarter.

Rainey warned that higher fuel costs will add just over $2 billion of incremental expenses for the year.

CEO John Furner highlighted continued market-share gains among households earning over $100,000 and pointed to growth in e-commerce, advertising and Walmart+ membership as new profit engines.

Walmart raises full-year outlook despite slower U.S. sales growth

The company noted that the pharmacy-price caps accounted for an 80-basis-point headwind to comparable sales.

Walmart's U.S. Same-Store Sales Hit Six-Year Low; Full-Year EPS Guidance Also Misses Market Expectations — BigGo Finance

Why It Matters

Walmart’s same-store sales metric is a widely watched barometer of U.S. consumer health; the slowdown signals that even value-oriented shoppers are feeling budget pressure.

Federal drug-price policy can directly suppress retail revenue, a factor analysts will monitor for future quarters.

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) Faces Slowest Q2 Same-Store Sales Growth Since 2020 Despite Price Cut Strategy

Conflicting Reports & Gaps

Revenue figure: reported as $187.94 billion (AP, CNBC) and $187.9 billion (BigGo, CNBC TV18); the discrepancy reflects rounding differences.

Full-year guidance: most sources cite a 4-5% sales growth range, while earlier guidance was 3.5-4.5%; the exact upper bound varies between 4.5% and 5% across outlets.

Walmart shares fall on signal that consumers are pulling back on spending

Verbatim Quotes

“But consumers are still spending, and real wage growth is keeping pace, and so they've been very resilient in this environment,” — John David Rainey, CFO

“Customers tell us they’re still feeling some pressure,” — Walmart CEO John Furner

What’s Next

Walmart projects third-quarter net-sales growth of 3-3.75% (constant currency) and adjusted EPS of $0.62-$0.64, noting a >100-basis-point headwind from the timing shift of Flipkart’s “Big Billion Days” promotion.

The retailer will continue applying remaining tariff refunds to price reductions and expects the fuel-cost impact to remain around $2 billion for the fiscal year.