While companies across the country are figuring out how to reposition themselves in the wake of announced Trump administration tariff policies, Walmart is viewing the changes as part of the normal landscape.
“We’ve learned how to manage through turbulent periods,” Doug McMillon, chief executive officer of what is regarded as the world’s largest company, remarked last week during a meeting with investors in Dallas.
McMillon added: “We see opportunities to accelerate share gains and are maintaining flexibility to invest in price as tariffs are applied to incoming goods.”
One of the reasons for the company’s optimism is owing to the role the retail giant has long played in consumer behavior where “cash-strapped shoppers tend to turn to Walmart for low-priced necessities in times of financial stress,” notes the Wall Street Journal.
Said McMillon: “What history tells us in that when we lean into these periods of economic uncertainty, Walmart emerges on the other side with greater share and a stronger business.”
Company officials have added that they currently have no anticipation of canceling orders of goods from China, Mexico, and other countries.
While undoubtedly relying on goods produced in other countries, Walmart has kept in place a process seeing it purchasing around two-thirds of its products from manufacturers and farmers based in the U.S.
In a statement, Walmart said that it expects its first quarter sales figures to “be in line with its 3-4% outlook, and annual sales and operating income growth guidance remains unchanged.”
April 15, 2025
By Garry Boulard
