Walmart E-Commerce Soars 25% Globally: How Big Can Digital Get?

Walmart Inc.’s WMT second-quarter fiscal 2026 results highlight how the retail bellwether is leveraging its digital ecosystem to accelerate growth. Global e-commerce sales surged 25% during the quarter. This momentum was broad-based, with all business segments — Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam's Club U.S. achieving digital growth north of 20%. 

A key driver of this expansion is the strategic emphasis on fulfillment speed and convenience. In the United States, store-fulfilled delivery saw an almost 50% jump, with a notable one-third of these deliveries being completed in three hours or less, and 20% of those deliveries arriving within just 30 minutes to customers. This model, which leverages existing store infrastructure for fast fulfillment, provides a competitive edge.

In the United States, e-commerce advanced 26%, fueled by delivery speed and an expanding advertising business, Walmart Connect, which jumped 31%. Sam’s Club U.S. mirrored this performance, with e-commerce also up 26%. International operations notched 22% growth, highlighting strength in China, Walmex and Flipkart.

Marketplace growth further strengthened Walmart’s digital expansion. Marketplace sales grew about 20%, with roughly 44% of marketplace volume now flowing through Walmart Fulfillment Services. This deeper adoption of Walmart Fulfillment Services not only boosts operational efficiencies but also enhances the platform's appeal for third-party sellers. Complementing these gains, the company’s global advertising business surged 46%, while membership income rose 15.3%, enriching the digital mix.

Walmart’s e-commerce business is rapidly becoming a central engine of growth. The question now is not whether Walmart can grow online but how big the business can ultimately become.

How Walmart’s E-Commerce Growth Compares to COST & BJ

Costco Wholesale Corporation COST continues to show digital momentum, with e-commerce comparable sales rising 14.8% in the third quarter of fiscal 2025 and 15.1% in July. Costco is boosting its digital reach through efforts like Costco Logistics and a new Buy Now Pay Later option. Costco Logistics saw a 31% year-over-year increase in big and bulky e-commerce deliveries in the last reported quarter. 

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. BJ continues to push hard on its digital front, with digitally enabled comparable sales jumping 34% in the second quarter of fiscal 2025. BJ’s Wholesale is leveraging services like BOPIC, ExpressPay and same-day delivery to deepen engagement, with more than half of active members now using its app regularly. This underscores how BJ’s Wholesale is turning e-commerce into a significant growth driver, enhancing convenience while reinforcing loyalty across its 8 million member base.

What Latest Metrics Say About Walmart

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for both Walmart’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 4%. 
 

Walmart has been a standout performer, with shares rallying 27.7% in the past year, almost in tandem with the industry’s growth of 27.4%. 
 

From a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 34.79, higher than the industry’s 32.03. WMT carries a Value Score of C.
 

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

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