Walmart (WMT) Stock Near Record High Ahead of Nasdaq Move and CEO Change

Updated December 5, 2025

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is closing out the first week of December trading near record highs as investors digest a powerful mix of strong earnings, upbeat 2026 guidance, an upcoming move to the Nasdaq and a looming CEO transition. ^[1]

The stock is trading around $115.66 this afternoon, up roughly 27% year to date and giving Walmart a market value north of $900 billion, levels more commonly associated with mega‑cap technology names than classic brick‑and‑mortar retailers. ^[2]

Below is a detailed look at where Walmart stock stands today, what’s driving the rally, and how analysts and models are thinking about WMT heading into 2026.

Walmart Stock Today: Price and Performance Snapshot

As of mid‑afternoon U.S. trading on Friday, December 5, 2025, Walmart shares are changing hands near $115.66, up about 0.7% on the day. The stock has traded between $114.41 and $115.82 intraday.

Morningstar’s Data Talk notes that Walmart is on pace for a record closing high today, extending a multi‑month rally that has already delivered fresh all‑time highs this week. ^[3]

Fundamentally focused research from Simply Wall St points out that: ^[4]

WMT is up about 12% over the last month
Roughly 14% over the past three months
About 27% year‑to‑date, with a 21% total return over the past year

That’s significantly ahead of most retail peers and roughly in line with or better than the S&P 500 over the same periods. ^[5]

Q3 FY26 Earnings: Beat, Raise and Re‑Rate

Walmart’s latest surge really began on November 20, 2025, when the company reported Q3 FY26 results that beat expectations and raised guidance.

Adjusted EPS: about $0.62, vs. a consensus around $0.60
Revenue: roughly $179.5 billion, up 5.8% year on year and ahead of analyst estimates ^[6]

At the same time, Walmart raised its fiscal 2026 outlook:

Adjusted EPS: now $2.58–$2.63 (midpoint above prior guidance and Street consensus) ^[7]
Revenue:$706.9–$708.9 billion, topping prior consensus around $704.5 billion ^[8]

What the Company Is Emphasizing

Walmart’s own Q3 FY26 update framed the quarter around three themes: omnichannel growth, higher‑margin revenue streams and capital discipline. ^[9]

Key operating highlights included:

Total revenue growth:5.8%, or 6.0% in constant currency ^[10]
Global e‑commerce: up 27%
Global advertising: up 53%, with Walmart Connect U.S. ad sales +33%
Walmart U.S. comp sales:+4.5% excluding fuel
Walmart U.S. e‑commerce:+28%, marking the 7th consecutive quarter of 20%+ digital growth ^[11]

Operationally, Walmart is leaning hard into speed and automation:

About 35% of store‑fulfilled orders were delivered in under three hours in Q3 ^[12]
>60% of U.S. stores now receive some freight from automated distribution centers
>50% of e‑commerce fulfillment volume runs through automated facilities, supporting better unit productivity and lower cost to serve ^[13]

Consumer Trends: Still Spending, But More Price‑Sensitive

Coverage from the Los Angeles Times framed Walmart’s earnings as evidence that price‑sensitive shoppers are trading toward Walmart as inflation and higher rates squeeze budgets. ^[14]

Highlights from that coverage and management commentary:

Walmart has twice raised its full‑year net sales forecast this fiscal year and now expects 4.8–5.1% growth ^[15]
E‑commerce sales grew 28%, and more than a third of orders were delivered within three hours ^[16]
The retailer is winning share across all income cohorts, gaining higher‑income customers who use fast delivery and online ordering — including for premium and even luxury items like pre‑owned designer handbags ^[17]
CFO John David Rainey flagged “some slight moderation” among lower‑income shoppers but said middle‑ and higher‑income consumers remain resilient overall ^[18]

Other outlets, including Fox Business, similarly argued that the quarter shows Americans are still spending, particularly on essentials like groceries, even if some lower‑income households are clearly under pressure. ^[19]

Nasdaq Listing: Walmart Rebrands Itself as a Tech‑Powered Retailer

One of the biggest near‑term catalysts is Walmart’s decision to move its listing from the NYSE to the Nasdaq Global Select Market on December 9, 2025, while keeping the ticker WMT and transferring nine outstanding bonds as well. ^[20]

Management has explicitly framed the switch as aligning Walmart with a “technology-driven, innovation-focused” platform, reflecting the company’s evolution into a tech‑powered omnichannel business spanning:

Rapidly growing e‑commerce and marketplace operations
A scaled digital advertising platform (Walmart Connect)
AI‑driven shopping experiences and personalization
Heavy investment in automation across warehouses and fulfillment ^[21]

“Should Walmart Really Be Trading Like a Tech Company?”

An analysis in The Wall Street Journal posed exactly that question, noting that: ^[22]

Walmart shares are up about 27% in 2025
The company’s market value now exceeds $900 billion
The stock trades at roughly 40x forward earnings, far above typical consumer‑staples multiples

Another widely shared article points out that Walmart would need only about a 15% further gain to join the $1 trillion market‑cap club, with 2026 framed as the year that could make that milestone realistic if current trends continue. ^[23]

CEO Transition: Doug McMillon Out, John Furner In

On top of the Nasdaq news, Walmart surprised investors in mid‑November by announcing that long‑time CEO Doug McMillon will retire effective January 31, 2026, after more than a decade at the helm. U.S. operations chief John Furner has been tapped to succeed him. ^[24]

Reporting from the Los Angeles Times and other outlets underscored several points: ^[25]

McMillon is widely credited with transforming Walmart into a digital powerhouse, expanding e‑commerce, advertising and marketplace businesses
During his tenure as CEO since 2014, Walmart’s stock has roughly quadrupled, adding hundreds of billions in market value
McMillon will stay on Walmart’s board into mid‑2026 and serve as an adviser through the end of the next fiscal year
Furner, a long‑time Walmart veteran who started as a part‑time associate, is expected to push deeper into AI‑driven retail and omnichannel innovation

For investors, the transition introduces some uncertainty about execution style, but the succession plan is generally seen as orderly and internal, rather than a disruptive outside shake‑up.

Wall Street’s View: Mostly Bullish, With a Few Caution Flags

Consensus Ratings and Price Targets

Latest data compiled by MarketBeat show that 32 analysts currently cover Walmart: ^[26]

31 rate WMT a Buy
1 rates it Hold
Consensus rating: “Moderate Buy” (very close to a Strong Buy on their scale)
Average 12‑month price target:$119
Target range:$91 (low) to $130 (high)
Implied upside from today’s ~$115.66 price: about 3%

Separate aggregation from StockAnalysis shows a similar picture, with a “Strong Buy” consensus and an average target in the $118–$119 zone. ^[27]

Fresh Target Hikes After Q3

Following the Q3 beat and guidance raise, a long list of brokers lifted their targets:

Tigress Financial: raised target from $125 to $130, reiterated Buy ^[28]
UBS: set a $130 target ^[29]
Wells Fargo: maintains Overweight with a $120 target ^[30]
BTIG, BMO, Telsey, KeyBanc, Piper Sandler, Guggenheim, Evercore ISI, DA Davidson and others have also nudged price targets up, mostly into the $120–$130 range ^[31]

One CIO interview highlighted by Business Insider went so far as to include Walmart among six stocks she expects to “crush the market” in 2026, citing its combination of resilient cash flows, defensive positioning and structural growth in digital services. ^[32]

Zacks: Strong Fundamentals, But Only a “Hold” Near Term

Zacks Investment Research takes a more restrained stance. In a December 5 note titled “Here is What to Know Beyond Why Walmart Inc. (WMT) is a Trending Stock,” Zacks observes that: ^[33]

Walmart shares are up ~12.9% in the last month, vs. 1.3% for the Zacks S&P 500 composite and 11.6% for the Retail–Supermarkets industry
Current‑quarter EPS is expected to be $0.72, about 9% higher than a year ago, with the consensus estimate up 0.5% over the last month
Full‑year EPS is now forecast around $2.63, up 4.8% year on year, with next fiscal year EPS projected around $2.94 (+11.6%)

Despite those positive trends, Zacks assigns Walmart a Rank #3 (Hold), suggesting that the stock is expected to perform in line with the broader market in the near term rather than strongly outperform.

Technical and Quantitative Forecasts: Momentum vs. Mean Reversion

From a chart‑based and quantitative‑model perspective, Walmart sits at an interesting crossroads.

Breakout to All‑Time Highs

A Benzinga technical piece, syndicated on Interactive Brokers’ campus, notes that WMT recently hit a new all‑time high as investors responded to: ^[34]

The Q3 earnings beat and raised outlook
Strong Black Friday online spending, where U.S. e‑commerce sales surged and Walmart leveraged its AI‑powered shopping assistant “Sparky”
Fresh investments like a $350 million dairy processing plant to strengthen the grocery supply chain
Anticipation of the Nasdaq listing

The same piece points out that Walmart now trades roughly 9–10% above its 50‑day moving average and 16% above its 200‑day moving average, confirming strong upside momentum. ^[35]

Seeking Alpha’s latest technical review also characterizes the move as a bullish breakout, citing: ^[36]

Steady dividend growth
Increasing role of AI partnerships (including OpenAI‑powered shopping experiences)
The defensive nature of Walmart’s consumer‑staples base

Algorithmic Forecasts: Mild Upside, Limited Edge

Not all models are screaming “buy” at current prices, though:

Technical‑forecast site StockInvest.us labels WMT a “hold or accumulate” candidate, noting several positive signals but arguing that, after the run‑up, the risk–reward is more balanced. Their model envisions Walmart trading in roughly a $114–$121 channel in December and suggests more sideways‑to‑up action than another immediate surge. ^[37]
A CoinCodex long‑term projection sees Walmart’s share price averaging around $117–$118 for 2025 within a $114–$121 trading band, with gradually higher modeled prices into 2030. The site emphasizes these are statistical, not fundamental forecasts and carry wide uncertainty bands. ^[38]

For traders, the takeaway is that momentum is strong but extended, and a period of consolidation around current levels would not be surprising.

Valuation: Walmart at a Tech‑Style Multiple

The biggest debate around Walmart stock right now is valuation.

Simply Wall St’s narrative‑driven valuation model currently pegs WMT’s fair value near $118–$118.4 per share, implying only about 3–4% upside from today’s price. ^[39]

They also highlight that Walmart is trading at roughly:

~39.8x earnings, versus
~20.7x for the average U.S. consumer retailing stock and
~25.6x for a peer group of large retailers ^[40]

The WSJ analysis makes a similar point: Walmart’s multiple now looks more like a software or tech platform than a supermarket chain, even though much of its revenue still comes from low‑margin grocery sales. ^[41]

Zacks’ style scores also give Walmart a “C” on value, suggesting that, on their metrics, the stock is roughly in line with peers rather than obviously cheap. ^[42]

Why Bulls Say the Premium Is Justified

Bulls argue that the richer multiple reflects structural changes in Walmart’s business mix:

High‑margin segments like Walmart Connect advertising, the third‑party marketplace and Walmart+ memberships are growing faster than overall sales. ^[43]
Global advertising revenue rose 53% last quarter, and membership income grew 17% globally, with especially strong growth in Sam’s Club China and Walmart+ in the U.S. ^[44]
Over time, that shift could drive structurally higher margins and earnings growth, potentially justifying a tech‑style valuation multiple if execution continues to be strong. ^[45]

Skeptics respond that with the stock already at nearly 40x earnings, even modest disappointments in e‑commerce profitability, wage and healthcare costs or consumer spending could hit the share price disproportionately. ^[46]

Institutional Flows and Options Activity

Recent filings and market data point to active institutional repositioning around Walmart’s rally.

Advanced Portfolio Management LLC disclosed buying 16,000 WMT shares, according to a December 5 MarketBeat note. ^[47]
Western Wealth Management and other asset managers have also increased their stakes in recent quarters. ^[48]
On the other side, Cresset Asset Management has trimmed its Walmart position, even as the same report catalogues a string of new and higher price targets from major banks and brokerages. ^[49]

Options markets are active too. MarketWatch data show lively trading in short‑dated options expiring December 5, a popular vehicle for traders betting on or hedging around Walmart’s new highs and the coming Nasdaq switch. ^[50]

Growth Drivers: Why Many Investors See Walmart as a Long‑Term Compounder

1. E‑Commerce, AI and Digital Advertising

Walmart’s digital flywheel continues to accelerate:

Global e‑commerce: +27% in Q3
Walmart U.S. e‑commerce: +28%, seventh straight quarter above 20% growth ^[51]
About 35% of store‑fulfilled orders are delivered in under three hours ^[52]

The LA Times notes that Walmart is now attracting higher‑income customers who value convenience and are willing to buy premium and even luxury items through its digital channels. ^[53]

On the technology front:

Walmart has launched an AI‑based shopping assistant called Sparky, which Benzinga highlighted as a contributor to strong Black Friday online sales. ^[54]
The company is integrating OpenAI‑powered experiences into its digital ecosystem, aiming to make search, discovery and personalization smarter and more conversational. ^[55]

That combination of AI‑enhanced shopping and high‑margin advertising is central to the bull case that Walmart is evolving into a platform business, not just a retailer.

2. Automation and Supply‑Chain Efficiency

Walmart is also investing heavily in warehouse automation:

Over 60% of U.S. stores now receive some freight from automated distribution centers, and more than half of e‑commerce fulfillment volume is automated. ^[56]
A widely circulated WSJ article spotlights robotic arms in Walmart distribution centers as emblematic of its tech pivot. ^[57]
Reuters coverage of Symbotic, a robotics vendor whose systems are used in Walmart facilities, repeatedly describes the retailer as one of Symbotic’s key partners, underscoring how central automation is to Walmart’s long‑term cost and capacity plan. ^[58]

The strategic goal is to lower the cost to serve while improving speed and accuracy, which, if successful at scale, could widen margins even in low‑price categories like grocery.

3. Grocery and Everyday Value

Grocery remains Walmart’s backbone, accounting for around 60% of U.S. sales, according to LA Times reporting. ^[59]

In Q3:

U.S. prices rose around 1%, suggesting that Walmart has managed to minimize tariff‑driven inflation for shoppers by absorbing some cost increases and resourcing goods where necessary. ^[60]
This has helped Walmart gain market share across income groups, with low prices and broad assortment attracting both budget‑constrained and higher‑income households. ^[61]

In a world where consumers are increasingly price‑sensitive, many investors view Walmart as a rare mix of value brand plus scale plus tech.

4. International, Membership and Sam’s Club

Internationally and in membership businesses, Walmart is also seeing momentum:

Walmart International net sales grew 11.4% (constant currency) in Q3, helped by strength at Flipkart, China and Walmex. ^[62]
International e‑commerce rose 26%, supported by big events like Flipkart’s Big Billion Days, which peaked at 87 orders per second. ^[63]
Membership income grew 17% globally, led by Sam’s Club China; Walmart+ membership also grew at a double‑digit pace across U.S. income cohorts. ^[64]
Sam’s Club U.S. e‑commerce grew 22%, with increasing adoption of Scan & Go and club‑fulfilled delivery. ^[65]

All of this supports the view that Walmart has multiple growth levers, not just U.S. big‑box retail.

Key Risks to Watch

Even as the story looks compelling, several risks could matter for Walmart shareholders:

Rich Valuation
- At nearly 40x earnings, Walmart is priced for continued execution and margin expansion. A stumble in e‑commerce profitability or slowing advertising growth could compress the multiple. ^[66]
Consumer and Macro Uncertainty
- Walmart’s CFO has emphasized that lower‑income shoppers are under increasing pressure, even as middle‑ and upper‑income segments hold up. A deeper labor‑market or macro slowdown could hurt traffic and mix. ^[67]
Cost Inflation
- Higher wages, healthcare costs and potential new tariffs could squeeze margins if Walmart can’t fully offset them through efficiencies and supplier negotiations. ^[68]
Competition
- Walmart faces fierce competition across segments — from Amazon in e‑commerce and cloud‑enabled retail, Costco and Sam’s Club rivals in warehouse clubs, and dollar stores in extreme value retail. Analysts have recently highlighted that grocery and discount competition is intensifying even as Walmart gains share. ^[69]
Execution on AI and Automation
- The bull case assumes Walmart successfully monetizes AI, automation and advertising. Missteps in technology investment or integration could limit the payoff from higher capex. ^[70]

Bottom Line: How to Think About Walmart Stock Right Now

Putting it all together:

Momentum: WMT is trading near all‑time highs, with strong price momentum and heavy interest from institutions and options traders. ^[71]
Fundamentals: The company just delivered another earnings beat, raised 2026 guidance and continues to gain share in both grocery and e‑commerce while growing higher‑margin businesses like advertising and memberships. ^[72]
Strategy: Walmart is doubling down on AI, automation and omnichannel speed, and its move to the Nasdaq plus a new CEO reinforce the narrative of a retailer transforming into a tech‑enabled platform. ^[73]
Valuation: Most analysts remain bullish, but models from Zacks, Simply Wall St and others all highlight that upside from here looks more modest and dependent on sustained high‑quality execution. ^[74]

For long‑term, diversified investors, Walmart is widely seen as a high‑quality, defensive growth name — a potential core holding that blends resilience with ongoing digital upside. For shorter‑term traders, the key questions now are whether the upcoming Nasdaq listing, CEO transition and holiday data can justify the current premium, or whether WMT needs a breather after an exceptional run.

As always, this article is informational only and not investment advice. Before buying or selling Walmart stock, consider your own financial situation, risk tolerance and time horizon, and, if needed, speak with a qualified financial adviser.

References

Walmart (WMT) Stock Near Record High Ahead of Nasdaq Move and CEO Change – All the Latest News and 2026 Forecasts