Walmart stock is barely budging in pre-market trading this Wednesday, December 10, 2025, after a headline‑grabbing first day on the Nasdaq and a wave of bullish analyst upgrades pushed shares to fresh highs around $115. [1]
With the Federal Reserve’s rate decision due later today and investors still digesting Walmart’s AI‑driven growth story, the world’s largest retailer remains one of the most closely watched names on the market this morning.
Quick pre-market snapshot (WMT, Nasdaq)
- Prior close (Dec. 9, 2025): $115.06, up 1.32% on the day, with an intraday range of roughly $113.02–$115.72. [2]
- Pre‑market range so far: Various feeds show Walmart trading between about $114.85 and $115.40 in early pre‑market and extended hours – essentially flat versus Tuesday’s close. [3]
- Latest indicative quote: Around $115 as of about 7:30 a.m. ET, a move of roughly ‑$0.06 (‑0.05%) from Tuesday’s regular‑session close. [4]
- 52‑week range: Approximately $79.81–$116.27, leaving WMT trading right near the top of its yearly band. [5]
In other words, Walmart stock is quiet but elevated in the pre‑market: no big overnight shock, but plenty of reasons traders will be watching it closely after the opening bell.
1. Why Walmart stock is calm — but crucial — in pre-market
Despite intense interest around the stock, pre-market activity in WMT is light and orderly:
- MarketChameleon data show pre-market trades around $114.85 on volume just over 20,000 shares, versus a 30‑day average pre‑market volume near 258,000 — a reminder that liquidity before the open is still relatively thin. [6]
- Public.com’s pre‑market feed shows Walmart at $115.00 at 7:30 a.m. ET, down just six cents from the prior close, while earlier quotes on Investing.com briefly printed around $115.40 (+0.3%) before easing back. [7]
- MarketBeat’s extended-hours snapshot at about 7:09 a.m. ET had WMT around $115.14, up 0.07% from Tuesday’s close — again underscoring that the stock is basically flat ahead of the bell. [8]
That combination — near-record prices, modest overnight moves and thin pre‑market volume — suggests traders are not reacting to a single new headline this morning. Instead, they’re positioning around three bigger themes:
- Walmart’s fresh Nasdaq listing and tech narrative
- A flood of price‑target hikes and bullish 2026–2027 forecasts
- The Federal Reserve’s interest‑rate decision later today
Let’s unpack those.
2. Nasdaq debut: Walmart leans into its “tech & AI” identity
From NYSE to Nasdaq
On Tuesday, December 9, Walmart completed its long‑telegraphed move from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq Global Select Market, retaining the ticker WMT. [9]
Coverage from Fast Company and other outlets has framed the switch as more than a cosmetic change: it’s a public signal that Walmart wants to be valued alongside technology‑heavy peers, not just traditional big‑box retailers. [10]
First Nasdaq session: near highs on heavy volume
According to trading data compiled by Investing.com and StockAnalysis, Walmart’s first Nasdaq session looked like this: TechStock²+1
- Close: ~$115.06, up about 1.3% on the day
- Intraday high: ~$115.72, just shy of the 52‑week high at $116.27
- Volume: Roughly 22.5 million shares, about 20% above the recent average
That strong debut is part of why today’s pre-market is fairly quiet: the big “re‑rating” move has already happened, and traders are now watching for follow‑through rather than a fresh pop.
Tech, AI and index implications
Several analyses highlight why the Nasdaq move matters longer‑term: TechStock²+2Red94+2
- Walmart’s leadership has described the company as “people‑led, tech‑powered”, emphasizing automation in logistics and AI‑assisted software development across the business.
- Reports note that over 40% of new software code is now AI‑generated or AI‑assisted, and more than 60% of U.S. freight runs through automated distribution centers, with over half of online orders fulfilled via automated facilities. TechStock²
- Retail‑industry commentary suggests the Nasdaq listing could be a stepping stone toward eventual inclusion in the Nasdaq‑100, which would likely bring incremental demand from passive index funds over time (though any addition would not be immediate or guaranteed). TechStock²+1
All of this helps explain why WMT is now trading on premium earnings multiples more typical of tech‑enabled “platform” stocks than classic grocery chains.
3. Analyst upgrades: new price targets set the tone for WMT
If you’re wondering what’s really moving sentiment on Walmart stock into today’s open, it’s the wall of bullish research notes that has rolled in over the past couple of weeks — including several highlighted on December 10.
Fresh hikes around today
- RBC Capital raised its Walmart price target from $116 to $123 while reiterating an Outperform rating. The firm describes Walmart’s business as a “flywheel” that is still in the early innings, pointing to ongoing market‑share gains and the potential for double‑digit EPS growth over the next several years. [11]
- TD Cowen boosted its target from $125 to $136, maintaining a Buy rating and adding Walmart to its “Best Ideas 2026” list. Cowen characterizes the company as sitting at the “heart of the grocery/tech nexus”, driven by profitable e‑commerce, retail media and membership economics. [12]
- Evercore ISI nudged its target from $115 to $117, keeping an Outperform call. Coverage highlighted Walmart’s pivot toward AI, its deepening e‑commerce scale and the significance of the Nasdaq move as validating a tech‑driven strategy. [13]
- Tigress Financial recently raised its target from $125 to $130, reiterating a Buy rating and pointing to multiple November upgrades (BTIG, BMO, Telsey, KeyBanc) that also pushed targets into the mid‑$120s to $130 range. [14]
Put simply: the high end of Wall Street’s price‑target range has shifted up toward the mid‑$130s over the last few sessions.
Consensus view: modest upside from near-record levels
Different aggregators paint a broadly similar picture for the next 12 months:
- MarketBeat: Average 12‑month price target of about $119.31 across 32 analysts (high: $130, low: $91), implying roughly 3–4% upside from around $115. [15]
- GuruFocus: Average target around $118.36 from 39 analysts (high: $130, low: $69.10), with consensus recommendations translating to an “Outperform” rating; at the same time, its proprietary GF Value model flags the stock as trading well above intrinsic value estimates around the mid‑$70s. [16]
- TipRanks: Classifies WMT as a Strong Buy, based on 26 Buy ratings, with a consensus target near $122.52 and a street‑high target of $136, implying about 7% upside from current levels. [17]
The takeaway for this morning’s pre-market: fundamental sentiment is very positive, but with the stock already near all‑time highs, most traditional analysts see single‑digit upside, not a brand‑new moonshot.
4. Short-term forecasts: quants versus the tape
Alongside traditional research, traders this morning are also looking at quantitative and algorithmic forecasts for Walmart stock:
- Norwegian analytics site StockInvest pegs a “fair opening price” for Dec. 10 at about $114.60, implying a mild 0.4% pullback from Tuesday’s close. Actual pre-market trades around $115 are running slightly above that model estimate. [18]
- Crypto‑adjacent forecasting platform CoinCodex publishes a 2025 fair‑value band for WMT between roughly $112–$117, and a much wider 2030 range between about $68 and $96, highlighting how long‑term modelled outcomes still vary widely even for a mega‑cap like Walmart. [19]
These tools are useful to know about, but they rely heavily on historical price patterns and assumptions that can change quickly. This morning’s real‑time prices matter more — and they show a stock that is holding its ground near the top of its historical range.
5. Fundamentals behind the move: earnings, ads, e-commerce and AI
Today’s pre‑market action is happening against a backdrop of strong results and upgraded guidance that continue to underpin the rally.
Q3 FY26 results: beats and raised guidance
In results reported on November 20, Walmart delivered another quarter of solid growth: TechStock²+224/7 Wall St.+2
- Revenue: ~$179.5 billion, up about 5.8% year over year and ahead of Wall Street estimates in the $175–177 billion range.
- Adjusted EPS: Around $0.62, topping consensus by roughly two cents.
- U.S. comparable sales: Up about 4.5%, versus expectations near 3.8%.
- Global e‑commerce: Roughly 27–28% growth, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of 20%+ online sales expansion.
Management also raised full‑year guidance:
- Net sales growth outlook increased to about 4.8–5.1%, from roughly 3.75–4.75%.
- Adjusted EPS guidance nudged up to about $2.58–$2.63, from $2.52–$2.62 previously. TechStock²
Those numbers helped spark an earlier surge when Walmart jumped in pre-market trading back on November 20 following the earnings release — a move that laid some of the groundwork for the stock’s current highs. [20]
High-margin growth: ads and e-commerce
A widely shared analysis from The Motley Fool, republished via Nasdaq, zeroes in on two key growth engines that matter for 2026 and beyond: [21]
- Online advertising:
- Walmart’s global ad business grew about 53% year over year in its latest quarter.
- Advertising helped drive around 34% net income growth on only ~6% revenue growth, meaning higher‑margin ad dollars are giving profits more leverage than sales alone.
- E‑commerce & omnichannel logistics:
- E‑commerce sales climbed roughly 27% year over year.
- Each store effectively functions as a mini‑fulfilment hub, helping Walmart deliver quickly while keeping shipping costs low — a structural advantage versus many online‑only rivals.
These themes echo the analyst upgrades: many of the new price targets explicitly cite advertising, marketplace and AI‑driven operational efficiencies as reasons Walmart deserves a richer multiple than in the past. [22]
International & supply chain momentum
Zacks and other research also highlight Walmart International as a standout: TechStock²+1
- International net sales grew about 11.4% in constant currency.
- Segment operating income rose nearly 17%, with international e‑commerce up about 26%.
On the supply‑chain side, Walmart has also opened new vertically integrated facilities, including a second milk processing plant in Valdosta, Georgia, to improve cost control and resilience in key grocery categories. TechStock²
Add in last month’s news that UGREEN’s NAS devices are rolling out to hundreds of Walmart stores — extending the retailer’s assortment in tech hardware — and it’s clear Walmart is working to stay relevant across categories that matter to modern consumers. [23]
6. Holiday shopping & “Get it Now”: near-term demand catalyst
Just in time for peak holiday season, Walmart released a Dec. 9 corporate update aimed squarely at last‑minute shoppers — and, by extension, investors watching Q4 trends. [24]
Key points:
- Walmart is extending its holiday delivery deadlines, offering Express Delivery in as little as one hour for orders placed up to 5 p.m. local time on Christmas Eve.
- A new “Get it Now” feature in the Walmart app shows customers an estimated delivery time in minutes and lets them place an order in a single tap — an experience designed to reduce friction and boost conversion.
- The company says its network now reaches about 95% of U.S. households in under three hours, underscoring how far its logistics platform has come.
Earlier in December, Walmart also called Black Friday and Cyber Monday “record‑breaking,” noting double‑digit increases in store‑fulfilled orders and ultra‑fast deliveries compared with 2024. TechStock²+1
For today’s pre-market, this holiday momentum helps explain why there’s no obvious negative catalyst hitting Walmart: the near‑term narrative around demand and execution remains solid.
7. Macro backdrop: Fed decision could add volatility later today
Today’s session won’t be just about Walmart. The Federal Reserve’s December 10 rate decision and press conference are widely expected to dominate market direction — including for high‑multiple, “quality growth” names like WMT.
- Major U.S. indices finished effectively flat on Tuesday, the day before the decision, as investors waited for clarity on the Fed’s next move. [25]
- Futures markets are heavily pricing in a 25‑basis‑point rate cut, but traders are laser‑focused on Chair Jerome Powell’s forward guidance for 2026, particularly how many additional cuts might be on the table. TechStock²+1
- The 10‑year U.S. Treasury yield has crept up toward roughly 4.2% in recent sessions, pressuring some rate‑sensitive areas of the market and adding a caution flag for richly priced stocks. TechStock²
For Walmart, the macro story cuts both ways:
- Lower rates and a friendlier bond market generally support high‑quality, steady‑earnings stocks with premium valuations.
- But persistent inflation and a slowing labor market could squeeze lower‑income consumers, potentially weighing on discretionary categories even as Walmart continues to win market share. TechStock²+1
That’s part of why today’s pre-market is so subdued: many traders appear to be waiting for Powell before making their next big move in WMT.
8. Levels and themes traders are watching in WMT today
Based on overnight commentary and recent technicals, here’s what short‑term traders and longer‑term investors are watching as the market approaches the open:
1. Can WMT hold support in the low $110s?
Analysts and market technicians note that the low‑$110s area has acted as a recent breakout and support zone after Walmart’s post‑earnings and Nasdaq‑listing surge. TechStock²+1
- A pullback that still holds this band would be viewed as healthy consolidation.
- A decisive break below it could signal a more meaningful valuation reset, especially if driven by macro worries rather than company‑specific news.
2. Resistance near $116–$117
With the 52‑week high at $116.27 and multiple new targets clustered just above that level, traders are treating the $116–$117 range as a key near‑term ceiling: [26]
- A strong move through this band on high volume — especially if it comes after a dovish Fed press conference — would reinforce the bull case that Walmart can sustain its recent re‑rating.
- Failure to break through, or repeated rejections near that zone, may encourage short‑term profit‑taking after a double‑digit percentage gain in recent weeks.
3. Flows tied to the Nasdaq move
Even though brand‑new index inclusions won’t happen overnight, some portfolio managers are rebalancing tactically around Walmart’s move from NYSE to Nasdaq, particularly in tech‑tilted or Nasdaq‑benchmarked mandates. TechStock²+2Nasdaq+2
Today’s pre-market suggests no sudden flood of such flows yet — but any post‑open volume spikes will be closely scrutinized for signs of institutional allocation shifts.
4. Holiday updates and consumer data
Investors are also on watch for additional holiday spending data, whether from Walmart, card networks, or third‑party analytics:
- Adobe Analytics recently reported Cyber Monday sales up about 7.7% year over year, a positive data point for overall consumer demand that benefits retailers like Walmart. [27]
- Any new commentary on the “two‑speed” consumer — lower‑income shoppers under pressure versus middle‑income households trading into Walmart for value — could move the stock, especially if it suggests a shift in mix or margins. TechStock²+1
9. Bottom line: Walmart stock pre-market on Dec. 10, 2025
So far this morning, nothing has broken the bullish narrative around Walmart:
- Price action: WMT is essentially flat in pre-market, hovering around $115 after a strong Nasdaq debut and recent record highs, on relatively light early trading volume. [28]
- Fundamentals: Q3 results, raised guidance, rapid growth in online ads and e‑commerce, and robust international performance continue to support the stock’s move higher. TechStock²+2Nasdaq+2
- Sentiment: Wall Street is firmly positive, with multiple fresh price‑target hikes (up to $136 at the high end) and a consensus view that still sees modest upside over the next year, despite stretched valuation metrics. [29]
- Risks: A hawkish surprise from the Fed, a sharper‑than‑expected slowdown in consumer spending, or a broader de‑risking from richly valued “defensive growth” names could all inject volatility into WMT later today or this week. [30]
For now, though, Walmart stock pre-market on December 10, 2025 looks like a pause near the summit — not a reversal. Whether that changes after Powell speaks will likely determine if WMT spends the rest of the week consolidating around $115 or attempting another run at new highs above $116–$117.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any security, or a prediction of future performance. Always do your own research or consult a licensed financial adviser before making trading decisions.
References
1. www.investing.com, 2. stockanalysis.com, 3. marketchameleon.com, 4. public.com, 5. www.investing.com, 6. marketchameleon.com, 7. public.com, 8. www.marketbeat.com, 9. seekingalpha.com, 10. www.fastcompany.com, 11. www.investing.com, 12. www.investing.com, 13. www.gurufocus.com, 14. www.gurufocus.com, 15. www.marketbeat.com, 16. www.gurufocus.com, 17. www.tipranks.com, 18. stockinvest.us, 19. coincodex.com, 20. 247wallst.com, 21. www.nasdaq.com, 22. www.investing.com, 23. www.stocktitan.net, 24. corporate.walmart.com, 25. www.investopedia.com, 26. www.investing.com, 27. www.nasdaq.com, 28. public.com, 29. www.investing.com, 30. www.investopedia.com
