Walmart shares tumble nearly 10% after weakest US same-store sales growth in 6 years

Walmart posted its slowest US sales growth in six years, sending shares sharply lower as the results missed market expectations and stoked fears of a broader consumer slowdown.

The retail giant said Thursday that total revenue for its fiscal second quarter, covering May through July, rose 5.9% from a year earlier.

Digital and new business segments drove much of the overall growth, with global e-commerce sales climbing 23% and global advertising revenue surging 38%.

However, the key metric of US comparable-store sales — excluding fuel — rose just 2.6%, the weakest gain in six years. That marked a sharp deceleration from the 4.1% growth recorded in the previous quarter and fell well short of the 3.8% analysts had expected.

On a conference call, Walmart executives said the pharmacy segment had been hurt by federal policy and regulatory changes affecting drug pricing. Because consumers tend to pick up medications in person rather than through delivery, the pharmacy weakness also weighed on comparable-store sales, they said.

Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told CNBC that the pharmacy drag was temporary but could persist into next year.

Average spending per store visit also declined. Analysts attributed the drop to consumers — particularly lower-income shoppers — trimming their basket sizes and spending more cautiously in the face of persistently high prices and elevated fuel costs.

Walmart shares tumbled on the results. As of 11 a.m. Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, shares were down about 9.4%, marking the largest single-day decline since July 2022.

Bloomberg said the results deepened concerns about a slowdown at one of the US economy's most closely watched retail bellwethers and amplified anxiety over consumer sentiment.