Walmart Inc. saw its shares fall after reporting comparable U.S. sales growth of 2.6% for its second quarter, the retailer’s slowest pace in more than six years, alongside a softer-than-expected profit outlook. The results, released Thursday, disappointed investors who had come to view the chain as a steady performer.
The slowdown was driven in part by falling prescription drug prices, which weighed on sales at the company’s in-store pharmacies. Lower reimbursement rates and shifting consumer behavior at the pharmacy counter combined to drag on figures that Wall Street had expected to hold firmer.
For shoppers, the numbers point to a company still drawing traffic to its aisles but squeezing thinner margins from each visit. Walmart has leaned on grocery and everyday essentials to keep customers coming back, even as discretionary spending across American retail stays cautious.
Behind the numbers, the quarter also carried an unusual bright spot: a tariff refund that flowed into the company’s results. Yet that one-time benefit was not enough to offset the broader softness, and management’s guidance for coming quarters left analysts underwhelmed.
The muted forecast follows earlier signs of investor caution. Earlier this year the stock slipped after an Oppenheimer downgrade that pointed to a difficult short-term setup for the retailer, a warning that Thursday’s report appeared to echo.
Falling drug prices have rippled across the broader pharmacy sector this year. The pressure recalls difficulties at rival chains, including Walgreens, which cut its profit outlook after a quarterly miss, as reimbursement economics tighten across the industry.
Walmart remains the largest retailer in the United States by revenue, and its quarterly reports are widely read as a barometer of American consumer health. A 2.6% comparable sales gain still marks growth, but the deceleration from stronger prior quarters caught the market’s attention.
The company continues to invest heavily in e-commerce, advertising and its membership program in an effort to diversify beyond thin retail margins. Those higher-margin businesses have grown quickly, though they were not enough to shield the headline figures this quarter.
Walmart will look to its holiday-season quarters to demonstrate that grocery strength and digital growth can carry results even as pharmacy pricing stays under pressure. Investors will be watching whether the retailer can steady its guidance and prove the latest slowdown is a temporary dip rather than a longer trend.