Walmart is preparing to raise prices on a range of goods as early as late May, as the retailer grapples with elevated import costs driven by President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs. The warning from the world's largest retailer adds to broader concerns across the retail industry over how continued trade uncertainty will affect consumer prices, supply chains, and financial outlooks.
"We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon stated in remarks prepared for the company's Thursday earnings call.
Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey echoed that warning in a CNBC interview, saying, "You'll begin to see that [higher prices] , likely towards the tail end of this month, and then certainly much more in June ." He added separately to Bloomberg that the trade environment remains "challenging," noting the scale and speed of recent cost increases have "no historical precedent."
Since the Trump administration's April 2 announcement of 10% universal tariffs-followed by a partial rollback-companies like Walmart have been forced to adjust. Despite a new agreement with China that reduced some levies, a 30% tariff still applies to most Chinese imports.
Walmart's sales rose 4.5% last quarter at U.S. stores open at least a year, bolstered by its grocery segment and an influx of higher-income customers. Its e-commerce arm reported its first profitable quarter. However, executives declined to issue operating income or EPS guidance for the second quarter, citing "the range of near-term outcomes being exceedingly wide and difficult to predict."
Though Walmart appears more insulated than some peers-only 15% of its products are sourced from China and 60% of sales come from groceries sourced domestically-analysts warn the retailer cannot fully escape inflationary pressures. Bank of America analyst Robert Ohmes wrote this week that Walmart is "well positioned to manage tariffs" due to its scale, pricing power, and deep supplier relationships.
Despite that, the company confirmed that price hikes will affect some product categories, following similar moves by Walmart suppliers such as Mattel, Adidas, Stanley Black & Decker, and Procter & Gamble. "Should the duties go away, there will of course not be price increases," Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden said in April. "But... should this duty stay or even be higher, then of course it will cause a price increase in the market in general."
Placer.ai data shows Walmart store visits dropped 2.4% in the first quarter compared to the previous year, while its Sam's Club locations saw foot traffic rise 2.7%, driven by consumer demand for bulk discounts. Walmart+, the company's $12.97 per month subscription service, now accounts for nearly half of its U.S. online sales, with subscribers spending nearly triple the amount of non-members.
Walmart's stock jumped 2% in pre-market trading Thursday and is up nearly 8% since the April 2 tariff announcement, outperforming rivals such as Target and Costco. Still, trade tensions remain a concern for executives. McMillon reportedly told Trump during a recent meeting that the tariffs are already disrupting supply chains and would likely intensify by summer.
