New York, January 6, 2026, 19:15 ET — After-hours
- Walmart shares were up about 1.5% after the close on Tuesday.
- Walmart Connect outlined a new AI assistant for advertisers, now in beta for Sponsored Search.
- Investors’ next major checkpoint is Walmart’s Feb. 19 earnings report and outlook.
Walmart Inc shares were up 1.5% at $114.34 in after-hours trading on Tuesday, after trading between $112.02 and $114.78 in the session as investors weighed an update from the company’s advertising unit.
The stock move matters because Walmart is leaning harder on higher-margin businesses such as advertising as it tries to keep profit growth steady even when shoppers stay cautious on discretionary spending. Wall Street has been watching whether the retailer can keep expanding beyond price-led grocery traffic without giving up too much margin.
Walmart Connect detailed a new “Marty” advertising assistant in a Tuesday blog post, pitching it as an artificial intelligence tool that can help brands build and troubleshoot “Sponsored Search” campaigns — paid placements that appear in search results. The assistant is in beta, an early test version, and will expand to all Sponsored Search advertisers “later this half,” according to Khurrum Malik, a vice president of business and product marketing at Walmart Connect. “Our agentic advertising assistant helps brands of all sizes to run smarter, faster, and more effective campaigns,” Malik wrote. Walmart Connect
The broader tape was supportive. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to a record close and the Dow gained about 1% on Tuesday, while retail peers Amazon climbed 3.4%, Costco rose 1.5% and Target added 2.1%, market data showed.
In a separate disclosure, a Form 4 filing published on Walmart’s investor site showed director Timothy Patrick Flynn received 337 stock units at $111.41 on Dec. 31, described in the filing as deferred quarterly director compensation. Form 4s are regulatory filings that disclose transactions and awards by company insiders.
With the stock hovering just under $115, traders will likely treat Tuesday’s intraday high near that level as the first near-term hurdle, with support around $112 near the day’s low. After-hours trading can be thinner than the regular session, which can magnify small price moves.
But the advertising assistant is still in testing, and new tools do not always translate quickly into higher ad sales or better margins. Walmart also faces downside risk if shoppers pull back further or if heavier promotions squeeze gross profit in the holiday quarter.
Walmart is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter results on Feb. 19, with earnings materials available before a conference call later that morning, according to the company’s events calendar.
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