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Friday, February 20, 2026
What’s happening: Shares of Walmart declined on Thursday following the release of the company’s fourth-quarter results.
What happened: The retailing giant reported better-than-expected sales and earnings for the latest quarter.
Markets grew concerned, however, after Walmart issued downbeat guidance for fiscal 2027.
How were the results: The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company reported single-digit sales growth for the quarter.
Why it matters: Walmart US revenues climbed 4.6% year-over-year to $129.2 billion, driven by momentum in the ecommerce segment. Walmart International sales surged 11.5% to $35.9 billion, led by growth in Flipkart, China, and Walmex.
Sam’s Club US revenue rose 2.9% to $23.8 billion on strength in grocery and general merchandise.
The company’s gross margin rose 13 basis points during the quarter, driven by Walmart US.
Walmart said that Sparky, the AI assistant on its smartphone app, had lifted order volumes by 35%. The company added that partnerships with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini had directed users to Walmart products. Management indicated that there were big plans to further integrate AI to drive growth.
Walmart raised its fiscal 2027 annual cash dividend to 99 cents per share, from 94 cents per share, marking its 53rd straight year of increase. The company also announced a new $30 billion buyback plan.
Walmart’s new CEO John Furner started his tenure with a cautious forecast, signalling the fragile nature of consumers, despite the company’s better-than-expected quarterly results.
Although consumer spending in the US remains broadly resilient, lower-income households continue to face financial pressure, Furner said. Households earning below $50,000 continue to see stretched wallets, prompting a value-focused and choiceful spending behaviour, he added.
Management guided to fiscal 2027 sales of $731.12-$738.19 billion, lower than market expectations of $748.06 billion. They projected adjusted earnings of $2.75-$2.85 per share, below estimates of $2.96 per share.
How shares responded: Walmart’s shares fell 1.4% to close at $124.87 on Wednesday, remaining volatile for most of the session. The stock has gained around 11% year to date.
What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring overall consumer spending, which is expected to significantly impact the company’s overall results ahead.
Context: The Japanese yen slipped against the US dollar this morning as investors digested the latest economic data.
Details: Data released this morning showed that Japan’s S&P Global manufacturing PMI surged to 52.8 in February from 51.5 in the previous month. This marked the strongest growth since May 2022 and was driven by strength in domestic and external demand.
Japan’s S&P Global services PMI rose to 53.8 in February from 53.7 in the previous month. This was the strongest reading since May 2024, with new orders climbing at the fastest pace in almost two years.
The country’s composite PMI jumped to 53.8 in February from a final reading of 53.1 in January.
Annual inflation slowed to 1.5% in January from 2.1% in the previous month, recording the slowest pace since March 2022. Food inflation eased to a 15-month low. Japan’s core consumer price index rose 2% year-over-year in January, easing from 2.4% in the previous month and recording the weakest growth in two years.
Strength in the US dollar also weighed on the Japanese currency this morning. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, gained 0.1% to 97.99.
The USD/JPY pair gained more than 0.1% to trade at 155.18 this morning, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.29% to 56,726.73.
What to watch: Investors await the release of data on industrial production, retail sales and Tokyo CPI from Japan next week. Tokyo CPI in Japan, which fell to 1.5% in January from 2% in December, is expected to rise to 1.8% in February.
Analysts expect Japan’s industrial production to rise 0.3% in January following a 0.1% decline in December, while retail sales are expected to rise 1.5% in January after a 2% decline in December.
Other Markets: European indices closed lower on Thursday, with the FTSE 100, DAX 40, ACC 40 and STOXX Europe 600 Index down by 0.55%, 0.93%, 0.36% and 0.53%, respectively.
Russia’s military forces announced 448 attacks on 34 settlements in the Zaporizhia region of Ukraine in one day. The news sent the USD/RUB pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Australia’s S&P Global manufacturing PMI declined to 51.5 in February from 52.3 in the previous month, which exerted pressure on the AUD/USD forex pair.
Argentina’s trade surplus widened to $1,987 million in January from $162 million in the year-ago period, which sent the USD/ARS pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Eurozone’s consumer confidence rose by 0.2 points to -12.2 in February. The latest reading coming in slightly below market estimates of -11.8 exerted pressure on the EUR/USD forex pair.
New Zealand’s trade deficit fell to NZ$519 million in January from NZ$549 million in the year-ago month. However, the NZD/USD pair slipped in forex trading this morning.
France’s HCOB composite PMI (1215 UAE Time), Germany’s HCOB composite PMI (1230 UAE Time), Eurozone’s HCOB composite PMI (1300 UAE Time) and negotiated wage growth (1400 UAE Time), Italy’s construction output (1300 UAE Time), UK’s S&P Global composite PMI (1330 UAE Time), India’s bank loan growth (1530 UAE Time) and foreign exchange reserves (1530 UAE Time), Mexico’s retail sales (1600 UAE Time), Canada’s retail sales (1730 UAE Time), PPI (1730 UAE Time) and raw materials prices (1730 UAE Time) as well as US GDP growth rate (1730 UAE Time), personal income (1730 UAE Time), personal spending (1730 UAE Time), core PCE price index (1730 UAE Time), S&P Global composite PMI (1845 UAE Time), Michigan consumer sentiment (1900 UAE Time), new home sales (1900 UAE Time) and Baker Hughes oil rig count (2200 UAE Time).
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