New York, Feb 8, 2026, 10:08 (EST) — The market has closed.
- Walmart ended Friday at $131.18, gaining 3.34%. After the bell, shares edged lower.
- Citi bumped its Walmart price target up to $147, sticking with its Buy rating.
- U.S. January jobs numbers and CPI are on deck this week, with Walmart’s earnings following on Feb. 19.
Walmart Inc finished Friday at an all-time high of $131.18, up 3.34%. After hours, shares eased back to around $130.98. The stock’s surge keeps it perched near its peak, with a slew of macro events and Walmart’s own quarterly earnings on deck this month. 1
Why now: Walmart’s back in the thick of the “steady” trade, and the next move probably hangs on its guidance, not momentum. Equity valuations are still leaning hard on rates, so consumer stocks like this can swing quickly if there’s a surprise in jobs or inflation numbers.
Walmart wrapped up Friday at an all-time closing high, price data from Macrotrends shows. Now, the stock’s climb is turning the spotlight on the company’s upcoming earnings report—they’ll need to deliver numbers that back up the current valuation. 2
Walmart shares climbed after Citi’s Paul Lejuez bumped up his price target to $147 from $120 and reiterated his Buy call. The note landed Friday. Price targets, of course, aren’t guarantees—they’re just brokers’ best guesses for the next 12 months. 3
Walmart’s performance broke from the pack. Target popped 4.24% Friday, Costco tacked on 1.20%, while Amazon slid 5.55% during the session, according to MarketWatch data. 4
Support from the wider market was clear. The Dow pushed through the 50,000 mark to close above it for the first time on Friday, powered by a rally in chipmakers and a wave of risk appetites following a volatile stretch for tech stocks earlier in the week. “There’s real demand for AI products,” Baird’s Ross Mayfield noted. 5
Macro data is up next. On Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Labor Department drops its January jobs report. Then, the January CPI lands Friday, Feb. 13, also at 8:30 a.m. ET. 6
For Walmart, such releases shape the outlook for interest rates and consumers’ actual spending power — factors that can easily overshadow any company-specific news for a day or more. Moves in food and fuel inflation also set the tone for retailers, often impacting shares ahead of any earnings prints.
The spotlight moves back to individual names in a hurry. Walmart is on deck with its FY2026 Q4 numbers, dropping Feb. 19. Look for earnings details to hit around 6 a.m. CT, ahead of the 7 a.m. CT (8 a.m. ET) conference call, according to the company’s events calendar. 7
Here’s the catch: expectations have cranked up. A whiff of weaker demand, shrinking margins or even a slightly guarded outlook can smack a stock fresh off a record close—even when the quarter’s numbers themselves look solid.
Come Monday, investors will have their eyes on whether Friday’s gains stick as the upcoming week’s data releases and fresh rate talk start making an impact.
January’s jobs data lands Feb. 11, followed by CPI numbers on Feb. 13. Walmart steps up with earnings and its call set for Feb. 19.
