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Walmart has said it plans to shift its stock market listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq, as the world’s largest retailer raised annual sales guidance after drawing business from rivals.
The company, which has a market capitalisation of more than $800bn, will begin trading on the Nasdaq on December 9. Walmart has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since founder Sam Walton took the Arkansas-based store chain public in 1970.
The listing switch is the biggest between the exchanges by company market value and a blow to the prestige of the NYSE, a unit of Intercontinental Exchange.
Walmart cited “the strong alignment between Walmart and Nasdaq’s shared values: a technology-forward approach, delivering exceptional client value and redefining their respective industries through innovation”.
The company announced the change as it reported that third-quarter revenue rose 5.8 per cent year on year to $179.5bn, beating estimates of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha by $2bn. Its shares rose 6.5 per cent in early trading.
Walmart has proven resilient as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs raised the cost of imported goods. It is also challenging Amazon with an ecommerce business that increased sales 27 per cent in the quarter.
Chief executive Doug McMillon said Walmart showed “strength across income cohorts, and especially with higher income households” in the US.
Same-store sales in Walmart’s biggest market rose 4.5 per cent in the third quarter. Sales of grocery and health and wellness items increased more quickly than general merchandise, said John David Rainey, chief financial officer.
“As pocketbooks have been stretched, you’re seeing more consumer dollars go to necessities versus discretionary items,” Rainey told analysts.
The company said grocery inflation at its stores was 1.3 per cent, down 0.2 percentage points from the second quarter and less than half the national inflation rate for food at home.
McMillon said Walmart had temporarily cut prices for about 7,400 items, more than half of them in groceries, and said he appreciated Trump’s decision last week to reduce tariffs for food ingredients that are scarcely grown in the US.
The strong results led Walmart to raise its outlook for net sales for the second time this year. Executives now expect growth of 4.8 to 5.1 per cent for the full year, compared with a previous forecast of growth between 3.75 and 4.75 per cent.
Walmart has long been seen as a barometer of US consumer health. As evidence of its increasing allure for wealthier households, Walmart US chief John Furner pointed to apparel, where sales increased by 5 per cent. By contrast, the big-box retailer Target this week reported a 4 per cent drop in apparel and accessories sales.
Walmart’s net profit in the quarter increased more than a third to $6.1bn, surpassing forecasts for $4.7bn. The company also raised the low end of its guidance for adjusted operating income, now forecasting a rise of 4.8 to 5.5 per cent this year.
The results point to a strong finish for McMillon, who last week announced he will retire in January and be replaced by Furner.
Rainey, who announced Walmart’s move to the Nasdaq on Thursday, served on the exchange’s board of directors between 2017 and 2023. He said the change aligns with Walmart’s drive to automate parts of the business and embrace artificial intelligence.
Nasdaq declined to comment, while NYSE said: “We are proud to have been a partner to Walmart and the Walton family in executing its mission to the benefit of the consumer and shareholders for more than 50 years.”
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