Walmart (WMT) Q3 2025 earnings

Walmart raised its forecast on Tuesday, as its customers bought more discretionary merchandise, ordered more deliveries to their homes and started their holiday shopping.

The discounter now expects net sales will grow between 4.8% and 5.1% for the full year. That compares with its previous forecast for between 3.75% and 4.75% sales growth for the period. The updated outlook came as Walmart posted third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations. 

In a CNBC interview, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said sales of general merchandise – outside of the grocery department – grew year over year for the second quarter in a row after declines for 11 straight quarters. Still, he said consumers are waiting to make those purchases until they see a compelling deal, especially as they pay more for food.

“We’re expecting this holiday period to be very consistent with that,” he said. “They’re focused on price and value.”

Here is what the big-box retailer reported for the period compared with Wall Street’s estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 58 cents adjusted vs. 53 cents expected
• Revenue: $169.59 billion vs. $167.72 billion expected

Walmart shares closed Wednesday at $86.60, after hitting both a 52-week high and an all-time intraday high since it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in Aug. 1972.

In the three-month period that ended Oct. 31, Walmart’s net income increased to $4.58 billion, or 57 cents per share, compared with $453 million, or 6 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose from $160.80 billion in the year-ago quarter. 

Comparable sales, an industry metric also known as same-store sales, jumped 5.3% for Walmart and 7% at Sam’s Club, excluding fuel.

Customers visited Walmart’s stores and website in the U.S. more and tended to spend more when they did compared with the year-ago quarter. Walmart U.S. transactions rose 3.1%, and average ticket increased by 2.1% year over year. 

E-commerce sales rose 22% in the U.S., with gains coming from curbside pickup and home delivery, along with growth in Walmart’s advertising and third-party marketplace businesses.

Walmart shoppers have also been willing to pay more to get their purchases faster, Rainey said. For the past two quarters, 30% of customer orders in the U.S. have come with an extra fee to get delivery within a shorter time frame, like within one hour or within three hours.

He said Walmart’s e-commerce business is “getting very close to profitability because we’re able to use some of the cost of delivery with these incremental fees that customers are willing to pay for convenience.”

Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, delivered its latest sales results and read on U.S. consumers as investors gauge sentiment and weigh the outlook for the most crucial shopping season of the year.

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