Walmart posts slowest U.S. sales growth in six years amid consumer caution

Walmart reported its slowest U.S. sales growth in more than six years on Thursday, as rising gasoline prices and cautious consumer spending weighed on the world's largest retailer. The company's shares fell sharply, erasing tens of billions of dollars in market value in their steepest decline since 2022. Comparable sales at Walmart's U.S. stores rose 2.6 percent in the second quarter, which ended July 31. This marked a significant slowdown from the 4.1 percent growth in the previous quarter and fell short of Wall Street expectations. The company attributed part of the weakness to federal legislation that requires pharmacies to dispense certain high-cost Medicare drugs at capped prices, which dragged down its health and wellness category. Excluding that segment, comparable sales increased 3.4 percent, but this was still below analyst projections. Despite the sales miss, Walmart's quarterly profit and revenue topped expectations. Net income was $6.37 billion, or 80 cents per share, while adjusted earnings per share were 81 cents. Revenue rose 5.9 percent to $187.94 billion.