New York, Jan 23, 2026, 10:51 EST — Regular session underway.
- Walmart shares ticked up 0.3% in early trading as investors dig into the details of the PhonePe IPO stake sale.
- Reuters reports Walmart will offload roughly 46 million PhonePe shares. The IPO is a sell-down by existing shareholders, not a capital raise.
- Key upcoming events: CEO transition set for Feb. 1 and Walmart’s quarterly earnings on Feb. 19.
Walmart Inc shares ticked up 0.3% to $118.20 Friday morning, stabilizing after a volatile week. Investors are weighing new information about the upcoming IPO of its Indian payments unit, PhonePe.
The PhonePe IPO is significant now as it may assign a clearer valuation to one of Walmart’s largest non-U.S. investments. If the offering succeeds, Walmart could raise cash through a partial sell-down while retaining control.
The news comes as Walmart approaches a leadership transition and the upcoming earnings report, prompting traders to consider if the stock’s recent gains will withstand a tougher market stance on valuations.
Walmart is set to reduce its PhonePe holding by roughly 12% in the upcoming IPO, offloading nearly 46 million shares. Reuters, referencing updated draft documents from Wednesday, also reported that Tiger Global and Microsoft intend to exit completely. The filing reveals the IPO will be entirely secondary — no new shares will be issued by PhonePe, and the company won’t receive any proceeds. Instead, the funds will go directly to selling shareholders, Walmart included.
PhonePe goes head-to-head with Alphabet’s Google Pay and Paytm in India. It leads the UPI market—India’s instant bank-to-bank payments network—with over 45% market share by transaction volume as of December 2025, according to Reuters, which cited the company’s prospectus.
Still, risks loom over Walmart’s latest asset. Reuters Breakingviews pointed out that PhonePe’s decelerating growth and mounting losses, combined with unclear limits on UPI transaction volumes, might make it tough for investors to value the company ahead of its Mumbai IPO.
Walmart’s parent company is revamping its leadership lineup as John Furner prepares to step in as CEO on Feb. 1. “Even the best teams need the right structure to win,” Furner said in a statement reported by Reuters. Reuters
Walmart took AstraZeneca’s spot in the Nasdaq-100 ahead of trading on Jan. 20, Reuters reported, a move that typically triggers shifts in passive fund portfolios.
Walmart’s FY2026 Q4 earnings will drop on Feb. 19, followed by a conference call at 7 a.m. Central, according to the company’s events calendar.
