Walmart (WMT) Stock Today: What to Know Before the Market Opens on December 8, 2025

Walmart Inc. (ticker: WMT) heads into Monday’s session sitting just under record highs, with a historic exchange switch, strong holiday momentum, and a big Federal Reserve decision all converging in the same week.

Here’s what traders and long‑term investors should know about Walmart stock before the U.S. market opens on December 8, 2025.

1. Pre‑Market Snapshot: Walmart Stock Near Record Highs

Last close (Friday, Dec. 5): $115.11
Pre‑market (around 8:40 a.m. ET Monday): just above $115, fractionally lower than Friday’s close. ^[1]
Recent high: Walmart closed at $115.11 on Friday with an intraday high of $116.27, marking a fresh 52‑week (and effectively record) closing high, after a sharp run‑up through late November. ^[2]

Options data show implied volatility around the low‑20% range (about 20.4% IV), a relatively modest level that suggests options traders are not pricing in extreme near‑term swings despite this week’s catalysts. ^[3]

In other words, Walmart is priced for strength but not panic, trading near all‑time highs in a calm volatility environment.

2. Macro Backdrop: Fed Week, Futures Slightly Higher

The broader market context matters for a defensive bellwether like Walmart:

U.S. stock futures are pointing to a slightly higher open Monday, with S&P 500 futures up about 0.2% and Nasdaq futures up around 0.3%. ^[4]
Investors are focused on the Federal Reserve’s interest‑rate decision on Wednesday, where futures markets are pricing in roughly a 90% chance of another rate cut, the third in a row. ^[5]
The S&P 500 is less than half a percent away from a new record closing high, underscoring a generally risk‑on environment. ^[6]

Lower or stable rates tend to support consumer spending and equity valuations, both of which are constructive for a consumer‑staples giant such as Walmart. However, high valuations across the market also raise the bar for continued earnings execution.

3. Final Day on the NYSE: Walmart’s Historic Switch to Nasdaq

Today is expected to be Walmart’s last trading session on the New York Stock Exchange.

Walmart has notified the NYSE that it will voluntarily withdraw its listing and move both its common stock and several bond issues to The Nasdaq Global Select Market. ^[7]
Trading on the NYSE is expected to end at the close on December 8, with Nasdaq trading beginning at the open on December 9, under the same ticker symbol WMT. ^[8]
Reuters notes this is the largest exchange transfer on record by market value—Walmart is valued north of $800 billion—and a major win for Nasdaq over its longtime rival. ^[9]

Management has framed the move as a way to align Walmart with Nasdaq’s “technology‑forward” image, highlighting the company’s push into automation, e‑commerce, AI, and digital advertising. ^[10]

Why this matters for WMT shareholders

Index dynamics: Moving to Nasdaq positions Walmart to potentially join the Nasdaq‑100 at a future rebalancing, which could trigger incremental buying from index funds and ETFs that track that benchmark. Analysts and commentators at the Wall Street Journal and Reuters have flagged this as a likely outcome, though it is not guaranteed. ^[11]
Perception shift: The switch symbolically reinforces Walmart’s narrative as a tech‑enabled omnichannel retailer, not just a traditional brick‑and‑mortar chain, which may attract a different investor base. ^[12]

For today’s session, expect some technical positioning as funds and traders adjust for the change in primary listing and anticipate Tuesday’s first day on Nasdaq.

4. Fundamental Driver #1 – Q3 Earnings: Beat, Raise, and a Strong FY26 Outlook

Walmart’s surge to record levels is rooted in a strong fiscal Q3 2026 (quarter ended October 31, 2025):

Revenue: about $179.5 billion, up 5.8% year‑over‑year (about 6% in constant currency), beating consensus by several billion dollars. ^[13]
Adjusted EPS:$0.62 vs. $0.60 expected, a modest but clean beat. ^[14]
E‑commerce:Global e‑commerce sales grew 27%, driven by pickup, delivery, and third‑party marketplace activity. ^[15]
Advertising: Global advertising revenue—including Walmart Connect in the U.S. and the VIZIO business—rose around 53%, with U.S. ad sales up about 33%. ^[16]
Membership & other income: up roughly 9%, including mid‑teens growth in membership income (e.g., Walmart+ and Sam’s Club). ^[17]

Most importantly, Walmart raised its full‑year FY26 guidance:

Net sales growth: now 4.8–5.1%, up from prior guidance of roughly 3.75–4.75%. ^[18]
Adjusted operating income: expected to grow about 4.8–5.5% in constant currency. ^[19]

MarketBeat data show a trailing EPS of about $2.86 and a P/E ratio just over 40, with Street forecasts calling for earnings growth of mid‑teens percentages next year. ^[20]

Takeaway: The stock is not cheap on traditional metrics, but investors are paying up for steady mid‑single‑digit sales growth plus faster‑growing profit engines like advertising, marketplace fees, and membership.

5. Fundamental Driver #2 – Holiday Season & Black Friday Outperformance

Fresh data from late November and early December show Walmart leaning hard into its omnichannel strategy:

Walmart reported 57% more orders from stores on Black Friday versus last year, with 44% more orders delivered in under three hours. The fastest delivery was clocked at just 10 minutes. ^[21]
The company said Walmart Marketplace hit a new single‑day record, and nearly 10 million shoppers used the Walmart app in stores, spending about 25% more than other shoppers on average, according to corporate and secondary‑source reporting. ^[22]
Axios and other outlets highlighted that Walmart’s Black Friday results are a clear sign consumers are still spending, particularly when offered value and fast fulfillment. ^[23]

At the macro level, Adobe and the National Retail Federation have reported record U.S. online holiday spending, with retailers like Walmart and Amazon among the biggest beneficiaries. ^[24]

For Monday’s trade, this matters because:

The market is now pricing in a strong holiday quarter, so any sign that demand is slowing—whether from Walmart or peers—could hit high‑flying names.
Conversely, if Walmart continues to surprise to the upside on grocery, essentials, and e‑commerce, today’s near‑record price may still be justified.

6. Tech & Automation Angle: AI Assistant, Warehouses, and a Dairy Plant

Several recent stories reinforce Walmart’s tech‑driven narrative:

A widely cited Benzinga analysis noted that Walmart shares hit a new all‑time high last week, driven in part by record‑breaking holiday sales and AI‑driven shopping tools, including the company’s “Sparky” AI shopping assistant, which helps guide online customer purchases. ^[25]
The same coverage highlighted Walmart’s opening of a $350 million dairy processing facility in Georgia, designed to tighten control of its grocery supply chain and keep costs low. ^[26]
Walmart continues to expand its partnership with Symbotic, the warehouse automation firm that powers high‑tech distribution centers, further improving efficiency and inventory management. ^[27]

These initiatives are key to the company’s argument that it deserves a spot among “tech‑enabled” mega‑caps, not just traditional retail peers—and they dovetail neatly with tomorrow’s move to Nasdaq.

7. Leadership Transition on the Horizon

Investors also have an eye on Walmart’s upcoming CEO change:

Long‑time CEO Doug McMillon is set to step down in early 2026, with John Furner, currently the head of Walmart U.S., slated to take over on February 1, 2026, according to multiple earnings‑related reports. ^[28]

So far, markets appear comfortable with the transition, viewing it as a continuation of the current strategy rather than a reset. But leadership changes at a company this size can still be a medium‑term risk factor to monitor.

8. Fresh Flows This Morning: What 13F Filings Are Signaling

Just hours before Monday’s open, several institutional ownership updates hit the wire:

Ossiam disclosed the purchase of roughly 1.03 million Walmart shares. ^[29]
SVB Wealth LLC reported acquiring about 116,000 shares, and Jump Financial LLC disclosed buying around 141,000 shares.
Temasek Holdings trimmed its Walmart stake, selling roughly 460,000 shares, according to MarketBeat’s aggregated SEC filing alerts. ^[30]

While 13F data are backward‑looking and often reflect prior price levels, today’s cluster of filings reinforces the idea that institutional ownership remains very active, with both large buyers and sellers around current levels.

9. Wall Street’s Latest Forecasts for Walmart Stock

Across major data providers, the Street’s view on Walmart is solidly bullish but not euphoric.

Analyst ratings & 12‑month price targets

StockAnalysis / Benzinga consensus:
- 30 analysts covering WMT.
- Consensus rating:“Strong Buy.”
- Average 12‑month target:$118.27, implying about 2.7–3% upside from Friday’s close.
- Target range:$91 (low) to $130 (high). ^[31]
A separate Benzinga‑based dataset compiled by other forecast sites shows a similar picture, with average targets in the high‑teens above $110 and a street‑high around $130 after Tigress Financial recently raised its target. ^[32]
One AI‑driven aggregator (mlq.ai) puts the average 12‑month target closer to $121–122, implying mid‑teens upside, though this is on the more optimistic end of the spectrum. ^[33]

Revenue and earnings growth expectations

According to consensus compiled by StockAnalysis:

Revenue this fiscal year: about $719.8 billion, up 5.7% from last year’s ~$681 billion.
Revenue next year: expected to rise another 4.9% to roughly $755 billion.
EPS this year: forecast around $2.66, up about 10.5% year‑over‑year.
EPS next year: expected to climb to $2.99, roughly 12% growth. ^[34]

MarketBeat’s separate forecast set similarly sees earnings growth in the mid‑teens next year, off a trailing EPS base of roughly $2.86. ^[35]

Bottom line: Wall Street expects Walmart to deliver steady, high‑single‑digit revenue growth and double‑digit EPS growth, a profile that supports the stock’s premium valuation—so long as execution remains strong.

10. Key Risks and Debate Points Before Today’s Open

Even in a bullish tape, there are clear debate lines around WMT at these levels:

Valuation risk
- At around 40x trailing earnings and more than 38x forward earnings, Walmart trades at a premium to many staples and retail peers. ^[36]
- Bulls argue the mix shift toward high‑margin businesses (ads, marketplace, membership, financial services) justifies the multiple. Bears worry any stumble in growth, or a risk‑off macro turn, could compress the valuation quickly.
Consumer health & pricing power
- Recent data from Walmart and holiday‑spending trackers show consumers still spending, but often trading down and using “buy now, pay later” and other tools to manage budgets. ^[37]
- If unemployment ticks higher or further rate cuts don’t materialize, traffic could hold up but basket sizes and discretionary categories may soften.
Competition from Amazon, Costco, and new discounters
- Seeking Alpha and other analysts have argued that Walmart is closing the gap with Amazon in e‑commerce, but that race is far from over. ^[38]
- Meanwhile, Costco continues to shine with its own loyal member base and strong financial performance, prompting some comparisons between Costco’s special‑dividend‑driven capital return story and Walmart’s growth‑and‑tech narrative. ^[39]
Execution on tech & AI promises
- Walmart’s Nasdaq switch and AI rhetoric raise investor expectations. If AI tools like Sparky, warehouse automation, and data‑driven personalization don’t translate into sustained margin expansion, the market may reassess the “tech premium” embedded in the stock. ^[40]

11. What to Watch in Walmart Stock This Week

Heading into today’s open and the rest of the week, here are the practical checkpoints for traders and investors:

Price action around the NYSE–Nasdaq transition (Dec. 8–9)
- Watch for volume spikes and any dislocations as WMT prints its final trades on the NYSE today and opens on Nasdaq tomorrow.
- Index and ETF flows may add short‑term noise, but they also reinforce Walmart’s status as a core mega‑cap holding.
Fed decision and market reaction (Wednesday)
- A rate cut in line with expectations and a dovish tone would generally favor high‑quality, growth‑at‑a‑reasonable‑price names like Walmart.
- A surprise hawkish tilt—slower cuts or tougher language—could pressure valuations across the board, including WMT.
Holiday updates from management or peers
- Any mid‑season commentary from Walmart, Target, Costco, or major e‑commerce players on the health of U.S. consumers could move the stock.
- Stronger‑than‑expected holiday trends would bolster Walmart’s raised FY26 outlook; any sign of fatigue could re‑ignite worries about stretched valuations.
Analyst revisions
- Following the Q3 print and Nasdaq move, several firms—including Tigress Financial, JPMorgan, DA Davidson, and Bernstein—have recently nudged price targets higher, many into the $122–$130 range. ^[41]
- Further target hikes or rating changes (in either direction) could be incremental catalysts this week.

12. Should You Buy Walmart Stock Before the Open?

From a news and fundamentals perspective, going into the December 8 open:

Walmart is:
- Trading just under record highs. ^[42]
- Benefiting from strong Q3 results, a raised outlook, and robust early holiday demand. ^[43]
- On the cusp of a historic move to Nasdaq, reinforcing its tech‑enabled narrative. ^[44]
- Backed by a “Strong Buy” consensus and mid‑single‑digit expected upside from most 12‑month price targets, with some more optimistic outliers. ^[45]

At the same time:

Valuation is demanding, and much of the good news is arguably priced in. ^[46]
The stock is sensitive to macro shifts (Fed policy, employment, consumer credit) and to any sign that its flywheel businesses—ads, marketplace, membership—are slowing.

This article does not constitute investment advice. Whether WMT fits your portfolio depends on your risk tolerance, time horizon, and diversification. Many investors view Walmart at today’s levels as:

A core defensive growth holding in consumer staples with a tech angle, or
A high‑quality name that may be better bought on pullbacks given its rich multiple.

If you’re watching the tape this morning, the key tells will be how Walmart trades into the close of its final NYSE session, and whether Nasdaq day one brings fresh buying or profit‑taking.