Why Flipkart and China Are Crucial to Walmart's Global Strategy

Walmart Inc.’s WMT global strategy relies heavily on its investments in key markets like China and India, with Flipkart leading its e-commerce and advertising initiatives. These two regions are quickly becoming essential to the retail giant’s future growth. Walmart’s worldwide e-commerce sales grew 22% in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, driven partly by strong growth in these markets. 

The company’s International segment experienced net sales growth of 7.8% in constant currency, with China and Flipkart emerging as major contributors. They helped counteract challenges from currency fluctuations and margin pressures in other regions. Both operations align with Walmart’s long-term omni-channel strategy, combining solid physical infrastructure with digital scale. 

Flipkart’s expansion is fueled by its dominant marketplace position in India and a maturing logistics network. Meanwhile, China’s performance benefits from Sam’s Club's growth and rapid e-commerce execution. The country also remains a major source of merchandise imports for Walmart, especially for products like electronics and toys.

Walmart is investing in faster delivery, advertising monetization and membership growth across both markets. In Sam’s Club China, membership income increased more than 40% in the first quarter, while Flipkart continues to be a key part of Walmart’s international advertising efforts, which grew 20% year over year.

Strategic investments in Flipkart and China are helping Walmart strengthen its digital competencies, test innovations in densely populated markets and diversify revenue streams beyond mature U.S. channels. As traditional retail margins come under pressure from tariffs and mix shifts, Walmart’s growing international presence, especially in India and China, acts as an operational hedge.

How Walmart’s Price Action Reflects EPS Estimate Trends

Walmart, which competes with Costco Wholesale Corporation COST and Target Corporation TGT, has been a standout performer, with shares rallying 47% in the past year, outpacing the industry’s growth of 44.4%. Shares of Costco have advanced 16.9%, while Target declined 25.5% in the aforementioned period.
 

From a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 36.21, higher than the industry’s 32.91. WMT carries a Value Score of C. Walmart is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 12.70) but at a discount to Costco (48.28). 
 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Walmart’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 3.5% and 3.6%, respectively. 
 

Costco 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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