Walmart Expands Same-Day Pharmacy Delivery With Refrigerated Meds

Walmart Inc. WMT has extended its Same-Day Pharmacy Delivery service to include refrigerated and reconstituted medications such as insulin, GLP-1s and pediatric amoxicillin. This marks the first time a major retailer has offered cold-chain prescriptions alongside groceries and household items in one seamless online order. The new service is a direct response to customer needs, broadening access to critical medications.

This latest development builds on the momentum of Walmart’s pharmacy delivery program, which has already completed more than four million orders since its pilot launch one year ago. The service has already demonstrated speed, with its fastest order completed in just nine minutes. By adding refrigerated medications that account for more than 30% of pharmacy sales, Walmart unlocks significant new value for customers nationwide.    

The offering is designed with customer assurance in mind. Deliveries are tracked in real time through the Walmart app, and medications are packaged in insulated, light-blocking bags to preserve condition and efficacy. Customers can choose delivery windows ranging from scheduled to on-demand and must sign for their orders in person.

Walmart’s pharmacy footprint of more than 15,000 pharmacists provides additional support, including counsel, screenings and immunizations. Its long-standing $4 generic prescription program is also eligible for delivery. For Walmart+ members, the service comes at no added cost, aligning affordability with innovation. This step highlights Walmart’s ability to merge scale with technology to expand healthcare access across the United States.

What Latest Metrics Say About Walmart

Walmart, which competes with Costco Wholesale Corporation COST and Target Corporation TGT, has been a standout performer, with shares rallying 27.4% in the past year, almost in tandem with the industry’s growth of 26.4%. Shares of Costco have advanced 4.6%, while Target declined 44.6% in the aforementioned period.
 

From a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 36.65, higher than the industry’s 33.30. WMT carries a Value Score of C. Walmart is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 10.93) but at a discount to Costco (47.13).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Walmart’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 4% and 3.6%, 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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