Walmart Stock Hits Record High as Nasdaq Switch and Holiday Rush Fuel Rally

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) heads into the final stretch of 2025 trading at record levels, after a powerful November rally driven by an earnings beat, a raised outlook, and a high‑profile decision to move its listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq.

As of the close on Friday, November 28, Walmart shares finished at $110.51, an all‑time high close after touching about $110.70 intraday, leaving the stock within a fraction of its latest 52‑week peak and roughly 19% higher than a year ago. ^[1]

That performance has pushed Walmart’s market value to around $870 billion, cementing its status as one of the world’s most valuable companies and a genuine contender in “next trillion‑dollar stock” debates. ^[2]

Walmart Stock at Fresh Records After Black Friday

This week’s surge capped a run that began when Walmart reported stronger‑than‑expected quarterly results and raised its full‑year guidance on November 20, sending the stock up about 6.5% in a single session and making it the top performer in both the Dow and the S&P 500 that day. ^[3]

From there, momentum built:

On November 26, Walmart stock hit a then‑record intraday high of $109.58, with year‑to‑date gains above 19% and a market cap above $870 billion. ^[4]
Technical analysts highlighted that move as a breakout from a first‑stage “flat base” pattern, flagging $109.58 as a key buy point. ^[5]
On Black Friday (November 28), shares climbed again, notching a new all‑time high and closing at $110.51. Macro data providers now place Walmart’s 52‑week intraday high in a band between roughly $109.6 and just over $110.7, depending on feed. ^[6]

Investors Business Daily noted that Walmart’s breakout puts the stock firmly in a 5% “buy zone” above that $109.58 pivot, which they extend up to around $115, while also pointing to investor enthusiasm around a potential Federal Reserve rate cut in December and Walmart’s recent AI initiatives. ^[7]

In short, Walmart heads into the heart of the holiday shopping season not as a defensive laggard, but as a market‑leading growth story trading at its highest levels ever.

Today’s Headlines: What the November 29 Coverage Is Saying About WMT

Fresh coverage on November 29, 2025, reinforces three themes around Walmart stock: record pricing, index and exchange dynamics, and holiday‑season positioning.

1. Record Highs on Black Friday

An article at Investor’s Business Daily today highlights that Walmart, along with Analog Devices and Fortuna Mining, hit record highs in Friday’s shortened Black Friday session. For Walmart, the piece emphasizes a third straight daily gain, the flat‑base buy point at 109.58, and a 5% buy zone that extends to roughly 115.05. ^[8]
The same coverage notes that Walmart’s 6.5% post‑earnings jump on November 20, plus follow‑through in the days since, has positioned the stock as a leading large‑cap retail name heading into December. ^[9]

2. Nasdaq 100 Talk and Index Flows

A new article today on the Nasdaq 100’s annual reshuffle explains that while valuations at the end of this week will determine index membership, Walmart’s decision to move its listing to Nasdaq likely came too late for inclusion in the December 2025 reconstitution. ^[10]
The piece notes that non‑financial Nasdaq names typically need to rank within the top 125 by market cap (currently above roughly $23 billion) to qualify; Walmart, at about $870 billion, easily clears that bar and is therefore widely expected to be a strong candidate for inclusion once timing and eligibility line up. Inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 would matter because of the huge asset base of the Invesco QQQ ETF, which tracks the index and manages hundreds of billions of dollars. ^[11]

3. Holiday Demand and Category Trends

A Yahoo Finance segment on toy‑shopping trends for this weekend singles out major chains including Walmart and Target as key destinations for consumers still spending on holiday gifts, even as many shoppers become more price‑sensitive. ^[12]
Barron’s Black Friday live blog notes that retail stocks moved “cautiously higher” in Friday’s trade, with Walmart up around 0.8% alongside modest gains at Costco and Target, while warning that the year’s “silly season” in holiday trading can bring volatility if expectations overshoot reality. ^[13]
A blockchain‑focused news feed that tracks retail sentiment flagged Walmart, Amazon, and Target as bellwethers to watch around Black Friday and the weekend, with early sales data and pre‑market clues seen as potential triggers for short‑term trading in retail names. ^[14]

Taken together, today’s commentary frames Walmart as a leader among large‑cap retailers, a near‑certain future component of key Nasdaq indices, and a central gauge of U.S. consumer health this holiday season.

Earnings Beat, Raised Outlook and AI Push Underpin the Rally

The November surge in Walmart stock didn’t come from nowhere. It’s rooted in a strong third‑quarter report (for the quarter ended in late October) that exceeded expectations on both revenue and earnings.

Across several filings and recap articles, Walmart’s latest quarter shows: ^[15]

Revenue: about $179.5 billion, up 5.8% year over year (around 6% in constant currency), beating analyst estimates near $175 billion.
Adjusted EPS: roughly $0.62 versus expectations closer to $0.60, with GAAP EPS nearer $0.77, helped by solid margins.
Comparable sales: mid‑single‑digit growth in the U.S., with international sales growing at a double‑digit pace in constant currency.
E‑commerce: growth in the high‑20s percent range globally, as Walmart leans heavily on delivery, store pickup, and its marketplace model.
Advertising & membership: Walmart Connect advertising revenue grew by roughly 40–50% year on year, while membership and other income grew in the mid‑teens, expanding higher‑margin revenue streams beyond traditional retail. ^[16]

Management raised its full‑year outlook for the second time this fiscal year, now expecting: ^[17]

Net sales growth of roughly 4.8%–5.1%
Operating income growth in a similar 4.8%–5.5% range
Full‑year EPS guidance of about $2.58–$2.63, modestly above prior Wall Street consensus estimates

At the same time, executives struck a nuanced tone about the consumer:

CFO John Rainey has noted that lower‑income shoppers are showing some moderation in spending, while middle‑ and higher‑income customers remain resilient or even increase their purchases in certain categories. ^[18]
Overall U.S. prices at Walmart were up only about 1% in the latest quarter, suggesting the retailer is absorbing a meaningful portion of cost increases, including tariff‑related pressures, to maintain its low‑price positioning. ^[19]

Crucially, Walmart’s performance reinforces the idea that value‑oriented, omnichannel retail can thrive even when consumers feel squeezed. That narrative is at the heart of both the bullish case for the stock and the company’s decision to reposition itself on the Nasdaq.

Nasdaq Listing and CEO Change: Structural Catalysts for WMT

On November 20, Walmart announced that it will transfer its stock listing from the NYSE to the Nasdaq, with trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market scheduled to begin on December 9, 2025, under the same ticker, “WMT.” ^[20]

Key points around that move:

According to Reuters and other market outlets, Walmart’s shift represents the largest exchange transfer ever by market value, a symbolic victory for Nasdaq in its long‑running competition with the NYSE. ^[21]
Management has framed the switch as aligning the company with a “people‑led, tech‑powered” strategy, emphasizing e‑commerce, automated fulfillment centers, AI‑driven operations, and digital advertising. ^[22]
Equity strategists at Jefferies and others argue that a Nasdaq listing could eventually pave the way for inclusion in the Nasdaq 100, drawing incremental passive inflows from index‑tracking funds and ETFs like QQQ. ^[23]

In parallel, Walmart is preparing for a hand‑off at the top:

Long‑time CEO Doug McMillon plans to step down next year after overseeing a transformation that saw Walmart evolve from a brick‑and‑mortar giant lagging Amazon into a true omnichannel platform, with its stock roughly quadrupling over his tenure. ^[24]
John Furner, currently head of Walmart’s U.S. business, has been tapped as the next CEO and is expected to lead the company further into the AI and data‑driven era. McMillon will remain on the board into mid‑2026 and advise through the end of the next fiscal year. ^[25]

For investors, the combination of a high‑profile exchange move and a carefully managed leadership transition strengthens the perception of Walmart not just as a defensive retailer, but as a durable, tech‑infused growth platform.

Analyst Sentiment: Bullish but Worried About Valuation

Wall Street remains largely positive on Walmart, but there is growing debate over whether the stock’s current price fully, or more than fully, reflects its prospects.

Broadly Positive Ratings and Rising Targets

Recent research notes collected by GuruFocus, Investing.com and MarketBeat show a wave of price‑target increases following Walmart’s earnings beat: ^[26]

Baird lifted its target from $110 to $121, reiterating an Outperform rating.
Truist raised its target to $119 and kept a Buy rating.
Other firms, including Piper Sandler, KeyBanc, DA Davidson, RBC, and JPMorgan, have targets clustered between roughly $116 and $130, almost all paired with Buy or Outperform ratings.

MarketBeat’s data show:

About 31 analysts rate WMT a Buy, with only one Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus.
The average 12‑month price target sits around the high‑$110s, implying mid‑single‑digit upside from the current price. ^[27]

Valuation Debate Heats Up

Where opinions diverge is on valuation:

MarketBeat pegs Walmart’s current price‑to‑earnings ratio at around 41, with a P/E‑to‑growth (PEG) ratio near 4.8, well above typical consumer staples valuations. ^[28]
Simply Wall St calculates a fair value near $113.78, only a few percent above Friday’s close, and notes that Walmart trades at roughly 38x earnings versus about 20x for the wider consumer retail sector, suggesting limited margin for error if growth slows. ^[29]
A recent breakdown syndicated via Finviz and The Motley Fool argues that Walmart has become “a great company at an ultra‑expensive price,” pointing out that its current P/E multiple is significantly above its own 10‑year median and that the stock’s dividend yield, despite more than 50 consecutive years of payments, is now under 1% because the share price has run so far. ^[30]
Seeking Alpha’s coverage has gone so far as to label Walmart a “solid business, expensive stock,” underscoring the same tension between operational strength and premium pricing. ^[31]

In other words, the Street largely agrees Walmart will keep winning, but some analysts argue that a lot of that success is already embedded in today’s price.

Holiday Shopping, Consumer Strain and What They Mean for WMT

The backdrop for Walmart’s rally is a U.S. consumer that is still spending, but changing how and where.

The National Retail Federation and related forecasts cited by multiple outlets expect around 187 million shoppers to hit stores and websites between Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, a record, with average spending per person near $890. ^[32]

However:

Articles from the Los Angeles Times and other business outlets note that shoppers are increasingly trading down, hunting for discounts, and prioritizing essentials, trends that play directly to Walmart’s value proposition and grocery strength. ^[33]
MarketWatch, Barron’s, and The Wall Street Journal coverage during Black Friday emphasize a split economy: higher‑income households still willing to spend, lower‑income households pulling back, and more time spent searching for bargains even when consumers ultimately spend less. ^[34]
In its own commentary, Walmart has been clear that low‑income cohorts are under pressure, but argues that if those conditions persist, retailers offering the best value—Walmart foremost among them—are positioned to take share from competitors. ^[35]

On the innovation front, Walmart is actively leaning into AI and automation:

The company is rolling out AI across its supply chain and stores, and has partnered with OpenAI to let customers shop via ChatGPT. ^[36]
Recent reporting also notes that Walmart is testing ad formats inside “Sparky,” its AI shopping agent, including “sponsored prompt” concepts that could open a new, high‑margin advertising revenue stream if rolled out more widely. ^[37]

Those efforts support the fast‑growing advertising and membership lines that many analysts believe will be key to sustaining Walmart’s margin expansion in the years ahead.

Key Metrics Walmart Investors Are Watching Now

Based on the latest publicly available data heading into the weekend of November 29, 2025: ^[38]

Share price (most recent close): $110.51
Rough 52‑week range: low‑$80s to just above $110 per share
Market cap: around $870 billion
Trailing P/E: ~40x (varies slightly by data provider)
Dividend yield: just under 1%, with more than five decades of uninterrupted annual dividend payments
Trailing 12‑month revenue: above $700 billion, with low‑single‑digit percentage growth
Upcoming catalysts:
- December 9, 2025: first trading day for WMT on the Nasdaq Global Select Market
- Post‑holiday updates on Q4 and holiday sales trends
- Completion of the CEO transition from Doug McMillon to John Furner and any strategic updates that follow

These numbers could shift as new data come in, but they frame how investors are currently valuing Walmart’s combination of scale, stability, and growth.

Bottom Line: What November 29, 2025 Means for WMT Stock

Walmart has entered the 2025 holiday season:

At record share‑price levels,
With earnings and revenue trends that are outpacing many retail peers,
While rebranding itself on Nasdaq as a tech‑enabled platform with meaningful AI, advertising, and membership businesses,
Under a new CEO‑in‑waiting and a supportive—but increasingly valuation‑sensitive—Wall Street analyst base. ^[39]

The bullish narrative is straightforward: a structurally advantaged retailer gaining share, monetizing data and traffic through ads and memberships, and stepping into the Nasdaq and (eventually) Nasdaq 100 spotlight just as passive flows and AI‑themed strategies dominate portfolios.

The cautionary narrative is equally clear: Walmart is now priced like a growth stock, with a multiple far above most of its sector, limited dividend yield, and a customer base exposed to any renewed shock from inflation, tariffs, or a weaker labor market.

For now, the market is voting decisively in favor of Walmart’s reinvention. Whether today’s record high will look like a bargain or a peak a few years from now will depend on how well the company continues to execute on its tech and margin‑expansion story—and how much longer investors are willing to pay a premium for safety plus growth.

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