Stock Market Today, Feb. 19: Walmart Falls After Cautious Profit Outlook Despite Strong E-Commerce Growth

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NASDAQ: WMT

Walmart

Today’s Change

(-1.41%) $-1.78

Current Price

$124.84

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$1.0T

Day’s Range

$124.47 - $130.09

52wk Range

$79.81 - $134.69

Volume

2.6M

Avg Vol

31M

Gross Margin

23.90%

Dividend Yield

0.74%

Walmart (WMT 1.41%), a global retail and e-commerce operator, closed Thursday at $124.87, down 1.38%. The stock moved as investors weighed a solid fiscal Q4 earnings beat and robust e-commerce growth against Walmart’s cautious profit outlook and commentary on a “somewhat unstable” consumer backdrop. Investors are also balancing how guidance shapes expectations for fiscal 2026.
Trading volume reached 42.1 million shares, about 34% above its three-month average of 31.4 million shares. Walmart IPO’d in 1972 and has grown 581,123% since going public.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.28%) slipped 0.29% to 6,862, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.31%) declined 0.31% to finish at 22,683. Among discount stores, Costco Wholesale (COST 0.83%) closed at $987.82 (-0.83%) and Target (TGT +0.04%) finished at $115.66 (+0.00%), underscoring mixed sentiment across large retail peers.

What this means for investors

Walmart had significant increases in e-commerce and online pickup and delivery orders, especially among consumers with higher incomes. But investors felt its cautious outlook may signal a tough road for the stock price going forward.

In Walmart’s first earnings report since John Furner took over as CEO on Feb. 1, the company reported holiday-quarter sales rose 5% on a constant-currency basis. Operating income grew nearly 11%, as e-commerce sales grew 25% globally and 27% in the U.S.

That beat estimates and showcased how returns from tech and AI investments are paying off. With shares recently up over 20% just this year and with cautious comments especially about low-income consumers, investors took some profits today.