On January 30, 2026, UBS reiterated its Buy recommendation for Walmart and lifted its 12-month price target from 122 to 135, reflecting confidence in the company’s ongoing margin expansion and resilience in a challenging retail environment. In fiscal 2025, Walmart generated $681 billion in revenue and delivered a 4.3% operating margin—up from 3.3% two years earlier—translating to $29.3 billion in operating income. UBS analysts highlighted Walmart’s ability to leverage its scale across grocery, health care and e-commerce, noting that every 0.1% increase in margin equates to roughly $681 million in incremental operating profit at current revenue levels.

Bloomberg reported that John Furner, currently president and CEO of Walmart U.S., will succeed Doug McMillon as CEO of Walmart Inc. on February 1. Furner’s track record includes accelerating e-commerce growth, piloting drone delivery programs and integrating AI tools into store operations. Under his leadership, U.S. sales grew at a mid-single-digit pace and same-day fulfillment volumes more than doubled. Investors will monitor Furner’s ability to sustain the company’s 20% year-over-year share gain in the digital channel and to approach—if not exceed—a $1 trillion market valuation through further online penetration and service layering.

In a strategic initiative to bolster its health care services, Walmart has elevated 3,000 pharmacy associate roles to pharmacy operations team leads, with hourly compensation rising to an average of $28 and up to $42 including bonuses. Simultaneously, the retailer expanded its pharmacy technician pay range from an average of $22 per hour to as much as $40.50 per hour based on location and certification. Since 2016, Walmart has sponsored over 22,000 pharmacy technician certifications, and the new structure is designed to relieve licensed pharmacists of routine tasks, improve in-store customer care and drive recurring prescription volumes across more than 4,600 U.S. pharmacies.