Walmart's Q1 Sales Jump 7.3%: Can E-commerce Sustain 26% Growth?
Walmart Inc. WMT delivered a strong first quarter for fiscal 2027, with total revenues increasing 7.3% year over year to $177.8 billion. A key contributor was e-commerce, where global sales rose 26%, supported by delivery services, marketplace expansion and faster fulfillment across regions.
Walmart U.S. remained a key driver of the digital momentum. The segment recorded 26% e-commerce growth, while comparable sales, excluding fuel, rose 4.1%. Stronger customer transactions were fueled by higher online engagement and increasing demand for convenience. Store-fulfilled delivery sales in the United States have more than doubled over the past two years, with more than 36% of deliveries completed in under three hours during the reported quarter.
Marketplace operations also scaled rapidly. Walmart U.S. marketplace sales increased nearly 50%, marking the strongest growth in about two and a half years. Faster delivery options and Walmart Fulfillment Services supported higher engagement, with same-day or next-day units shipped through WFS up nearly 150%.
The e-commerce strength extended beyond the domestic business. Walmart International posted 27% e-commerce growth, while Sam’s Club U.S. reported a 23% increase. Club-fulfilled delivery sales at Sam’s Club jumped more than 90%. Globally, Walmart delivered more than 3.5 billion units through same-day or next-day services.
Faster delivery, broader assortment and marketplace expansion are becoming increasingly important components of Walmart’s omnichannel model. The latest quarter highlighted how the company is leveraging its store and club network to support digital growth while improving customer engagement across markets.
Target and Costco’s E-commerce Momentum
Target Corporation TGT is also benefiting from digital demand. In its latest first-quarter fiscal 2026 results, TGT reported net sales growth of 6.7%, while comparable sales increased 5.6%. Comparable digital sales at Target rose 8.9%, fueled by a more than 27% increase in same-day delivery, which was supported by Target Circle 360.
Costco Wholesale Corporation COST continues to post stronger digital trends. For the retail month of April (four weeks ended May 3, 2026), COST reported net sales growth of 13% to $23.92 billion, while comparable sales increased 11.6%. Costco’s digitally enabled sales grew 18.8% for April. Excluding impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange, Costco’s comparable sales grew 7.8% for the month, with digitally-enabled comparable sales up 18.4%.
WMT Stock Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of Walmart have surged 24.8% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 22.9%.
WMT Price Performance Versus Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, WMT trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 39.94, higher than the industry’s average of 36.42.
WMT Valuation Compared to Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WMT’s current and next fiscal year earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 9.5% and 13.4%, respectively.
Walmart currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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