New York, January 29, 2026, 21:40 EST — Market closed
- Walmart shares ended Thursday’s session roughly 0.7% higher, closing at $117.41.
- The retailer is raising wages and broadening pharmacy roles as it deepens its healthcare focus.
- Investors are eyeing the Feb. 19 results for insights on costs, margins, and demand.
Shares of Walmart Inc. climbed roughly 0.7% to $117.41 on Thursday, edging higher amid a choppy U.S. market as investors digested the retailer’s recent move to expand its pharmacy operations.
This shift matters as Walmart ramps up its focus on services—from pharmacy to delivery—to sustain growth amid cautious shoppers and uneven big-ticket spending. Pay reveals a lot, too: it’s a retention lever and a cost factor, signaling where management expects the battle to be.
This comes amid a hectic earnings season for U.S. stocks. Walmart has remained a defensive play, yet the market swiftly penalizes any signs of margin squeeze, especially when rising wage costs come into view.
Walmart promoted 3,000 positions to pharmacy operations team leads, with an average wage rising to about $28 an hour, up from roughly $22 for pharmacy technicians. It also widened the pay scale for technicians, now reaching as high as $40.50 an hour. “This investment is really about supporting the pharmacy teams who show up for their communities every day,” said Kevin Host, senior vice president of pharmacy at Walmart. (Walmart)
A Reuters report highlighted that the staffing shakeup ties into a broader effort to grow digital and pharmacy healthcare offerings. This includes Better Care Services, expanded access to Eli Lilly’s LillyDirect program, and enhanced pharmacy delivery options. The report also pointed to Amazon’s moves in pharmacy—pushing same-day prescription deliveries and adding Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill to insurance plans. (Reuters)
Axios reported that Walmart is increasingly moving prescription-filling tasks to its highly automated “central fill” centers — large hubs that handle prescriptions for multiple stores. This shift allows in-store staff to focus more on direct patient care. Host told Axios, “With pharmacy care, you don’t need an appointment,” and added that customers can often get what they need “in 15 minutes or less.” (Axios)
U.S. stocks closed with mixed results. The S&P 500 dipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq slid 0.7%, dragged down by a steep fall in Microsoft shares. The Dow managed a slight gain of 0.1%, buoyed by Meta’s advances that helped cap wider declines, according to an Associated Press market recap. (AP News)
Target climbed 1.1% Thursday, outpacing rivals as Costco dropped 0.8% and Amazon slipped 0.5%. Walmart settled between those moves for the day. (MarketWatch)
Macro data remained largely out of the spotlight. A Reuters report noted weekly jobless claims dipped slightly while the U.S. trade deficit surged in November, fueling questions about the true pace of growth late last year and how long the Federal Reserve can hold steady on rates. (Reuters)
Investors are focused on a key date: the U.S. employment report for January, set for release on Feb. 6. This report has the potential to shift rate expectations and, in turn, impact consumer stocks. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The downside is clear-cut. Increased wages and more staff push expenses up, especially if prescription volumes or higher-margin services don’t pick up fast enough. Pharmacy stays a tough sector, loaded with fierce competition and reimbursement challenges.
Walmart is set to report its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 19. Investors will be watching closely for updates on the pharmacy and health services segments, shifts in e-commerce, and any initial indications of cost inflation. (Walmart)
