Walmart Jumps in Premarket After Reporting Strong Q3 Earnings

Walmart (WMT) raised full-year operating income growth guidance by nearly 400 basis points at the midpoint.

Walmart reduced U.S. delivery cost per order by roughly 40% for the third straight quarter.

Households earning over $100K accounted for 75% of Walmart’s market share gains.

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Walmart (NYSE: WMT) reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 results before the bell Thursday, beating on both the top and bottom lines. The stock traded near $102 in premarket action, up modestly from Wednesday’s close of $101.64. Investors liked the guidance raise and eCommerce momentum. I thought the consistency across segments was the real standout here.

Walmart posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.62, topping the $0.60 consensus by 3.3%. Revenue came in at $179.5 billion, ahead of the $175.2 billion estimate. That’s a 5.8% jump from the prior year. Net income surged 33% to $6.09 billion. CEO Doug McMillon noted the company is “working hard to save our customers’ and members’ time and money, while simultaneously transforming our business for the future.”

The company delivered strong growth across channels. Global eCommerce rose 27%. Advertising revenue climbed 28%. Membership income increased 22%. Operating income came in nearly flat at $6.70 billion, down just 0.2% due to a non-cash PhonePe share-based compensation charge. Without that, the operating leverage story held up well.

Walmart U.S. led with net sales of $120.7 billion, up 5.1%. Comparable sales rose 4.5%. The segment continues gaining market share in both grocery and general merchandise. McMillon pointed out that “households earning more than $100,000 made up 75% of our share gains.” That’s a significant shift in customer mix.

International delivered the strongest growth at 10.8%, with net sales hitting $33.5 billion. Sam’s Club posted $23.6 billion in net sales, up 3.1%. CFO John David Rainey highlighted that store-fulfilled delivery “increased nearly 50% and surpassed a $2.5 billion monthly run rate.”

I liked how the marketplace business is scaling. It grew 42% in the quarter with SKU count approaching 700 million items. Walmart Connect, the company’s advertising platform, grew 26% in the U.S. These alternative revenue streams are becoming meaningful contributors to profit growth.

The company made real progress narrowing eCommerce losses. Rainey noted “the third consecutive quarter of approximately 40% reduction in U.S. net delivery cost per order.” That efficiency gain matters. The business model is starting to work as designed, with operating income growing faster than sales.