Erste Group Bank Estimates Walmart FY2028 Earnings

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) – Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank issued their FY2028 earnings per share estimates for shares of Walmart in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau expects that the retailer will post earnings of $2.96 per share for the year. The consensus estimate for Walmart’s current full-year earnings is $2.55 per share.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WMT. HSBC lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their price target on Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.21.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $126.75 on Monday. Walmart has a 12 month low of $79.81 and a 12 month high of $134.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 46.26, a P/E/G ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.69.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after purchasing an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,255 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total value of $167,178.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 586,329 shares in the company, valued at $78,104,886.09. The trade was a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $9,430,445.99. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at $49,772,492.88. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 261,903 shares of company stock worth $31,496,959. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.31%.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company fundamentals and capital returns — Walmart reported an earnings and revenue beat, raised the quarterly dividend, and authorized a new ~$30B share repurchase program, supporting EPS upside and shareholder return expectations. Assessing Walmart’s Valuation After Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. segment momentum — Walmart U.S. delivered ~4.6% comp growth driven by grocery traffic and e‑commerce strength, a key driver cited for sustaining FY27 outlook. WMT’s U.S. Segment Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Market share gain / resilient demand — dunnhumby data shows U.S. household penetration near ~72%, indicating Walmart is capturing share versus traditional grocers amid affordability pressures. Walmart, Dollar Stores Beat Traditional Grocers’ Reach
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — several firms (Telsey, BTIG, Wells Fargo, Oppenheimer and others) have reiterated or raised ratings/targets, lifting consensus sentiment and price-target-driven demand. Telsey Advisory Sees Walmart Strengthening Position
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/comparison analysis — pieces comparing Walmart to other retail plays (Dollar General, traditional grocers) highlight valuation and model differences; useful for allocation decisions but not a single catalyst. Walmart or Dollar General: Which Is the Better Retail Play?
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary — bank notes and analyst writeups (Erste Group, others) provide context on FY outlook and margins but largely echo existing consensus rather than shifting it. Erste Group Bank Comments on Walmart FY2028 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — multiple senior executives, including the CEO and EVPs, disclosed sizable share sales this week; such filings can create short‑term sentiment pressure even if sales are for diversification or tax reasons. Latriece Watkins Sells 10,000 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/headline risk — Walmart highlighted a “hiring recession” context and broader consumer fragility in commentary, which could temper discretionary spending and complicate margin leverage if labor and demand trends weaken. Walmart Warns of “Hiring Recession”

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.