Walmart reported a solid quarterly performance but warned consumers to brace for price increases due to ongoing U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports and goods from other key trading partners. Despite recent easing in trade tensions, the retail giant said tariffs remain high enough to significantly impact product costs—particularly in categories like electronics and toys.
“We’ll do our best to keep prices low, but we can’t absorb all the pressure from the tariffs,” said CEO Doug McMillon during a call with analysts. Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey added that shoppers will likely begin seeing price hikes by late May, with a more noticeable impact in June. Some tariffed items could see double-digit price increases, he said.
However, Walmart may selectively absorb some costs to maintain competitiveness and grow market share. “We could see stable or even lower prices on some tariffed products, depending on strategic decisions,” said CFRA analyst Arun Sundaram.
Walmart’s Q1 profits totaled $4.5 billion—down 12.1% year-over-year but ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue rose 2.5% to $165.6 billion, fueled by a 4.5% increase in U.S. comparable store sales, driven largely by groceries. The company maintained its full-year outlook but withheld second-quarter profit guidance, citing uncertainty around U.S. trade policy.
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