BENTONVILLE, Arkansas, July 7, 2026, 03:21 CDT
- Walmart dropped the price of a 1-lb 73% ground beef roll to $5.94 from $6.74, or roughly 12%. That’s less than President Donald Trump’s “almost 15%” claim. Reuters
- Walmart’s own rollback list points to the biggest dollar cuts in cherries and soda, not beef.
- Beef and veal prices might climb 7.5% in 2026, the USDA says. Kroger notes shoppers are coming in more often for promotions.
- Walmart stock was quoted at $110.65 before the bell in the U.S. on Thursday, off $1.20 from the prior close.
Walmart Inc NASDAQ:WMT cut prices on thousands of summer items this week. But a look at the retailer’s catalog suggests the much-hyped “beef war” story isn’t as big for investors as Walmart’s wider push to discount soda, produce, and meat in its clubs.
Trump said Walmart lowered prices “at my Administration’s request” for the U.S. 250th birthday, and claimed ground beef would drop “almost 15%.” But Walmart’s release didn’t mention the administration, and the company told MarketWatch the new prices started last week. AP News
Julie Barber, Walmart’s executive vice president and chief merchant for Walmart U.S., called the latest rollbacks “investments in price.” The company said lowering prices on selected items cut a one-item basket from $73.42 to $54.70, down $18.72, or 25.5%, using figures from Walmart’s own release. Walmart Newsroom
| Walmart named rollback | Was | Now | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh sweet corn, each | $0.68 | $0.25 | 63.2% |
| Fresh red cherries, 2.25-lb bag | $11.18 | $5.63 | 49.6% |
| Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero 24-pack | $14.97 | $9.97 | 33.4% |
| Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Diet Mountain Dew 24-pack | $13.97 | $9.97 | 28.6% |
| Great Value ice cream, 48 fl oz | $2.97 | $2.50 | 15.8% |
| Lay’s Classic potato chips, 8 oz | $2.97 | $2.50 | 15.8% |
| 73% ground beef roll, 1 lb | $6.74 | $5.94 | 11.9% |
| Frito-Lay variety pack, 18-count | $9.97 | $8.97 | 10.0% |
| Great Value paper plates, 200-count | $9.97 | $8.97 | 10.0% |
Cherries and a 24-pack of Coca-Cola Co NYSE:KO together make up $10.55 out of the $18.72 in savings in the group. The beef roll is 80 cents of that, or 4.3%. PepsiCo Inc NASDAQ:PEP is taking part in the big soda discount too, with $4 off Pepsi 24-packs.
Sam’s Club, a Walmart division, dropped prices on over 250 products. Price cuts on named meat cuts vary: chicken wings saw the largest, but ground beef is only down 3.2%.
| Sam’s Club named offer | Was | Now | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member’s Mark bone-in chicken wings | $2.88/lb | $2.00/lb | 30.6% |
| Member’s Mark beef hot dogs | $12.96 | $10.86 | 16.2% |
| Member’s Mark whole bone-in pork back ribs | $3.48/lb | $3.18/lb | 8.6% |
| Member’s Mark 88/12 ground beef | $6.17/lb | $5.97/lb | 3.2% |
The mix is important for Walmart, which has made price cuts in categories where shoppers notice right away, but beef remains scarce. The USDA said beef and veal prices in May were up 12.9% from a year ago and noted the U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest in 75 years. The agency sees beef and veal prices climbing another 7.5% in 2026.
Rising prices aren’t just hitting meat. Food-at-home costs climbed 2.7% in the year through May, according to the Labor Department. Nonalcoholic drinks jumped 5.8%. Walmart’s soda price cuts are hitting a category where shelf inflation is still plain to shoppers.
The risk for other grocers is losing customer traffic. Kroger Co NYSE:KR CEO Greg Foran said last month shoppers were coming in “too many promotional trips and not enough of the full basket.” CFRA analyst Arun Sundaram said, “The value war seems to be escalating,” with Kroger pushing more on price to hang on to its share. Reuters
Walmart is stepping into the cut, but there’s still a cap on how far it can go. First-quarter numbers show revenue up 7.3%. Walmart U.S. comps ex-fuel rose 4.1%. Gross profit rate ticked up 6 basis points. Global ad sales jumped 37%. The company also flagged that fuel costs shaved 250 basis points off operating income growth.
Shares opened weaker. Walmart slipped $1.20 to $110.65 before the bell. Coca-Cola dropped $1.18 to $82.96, PepsiCo lost 93 cents to $143.29. Kroger was steady near $58.25.
Related articles: NYSE:KO
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