Honestly, if you told someone ten years ago that Walmart would be the stock everyone’s talking about in 2026 because of "agentic commerce" and "AI-driven delivery," they’d probably have laughed you out of the room. It was just a big box store, right?
Not anymore.
As of yesterday, Friday, January 16, 2026, Walmart Inc. (WMT) closed at $119.82, a nice little bump of about 0.52% on the day. It’s hovering right near its 52-week high of $121.24. But the price tag isn't even the most interesting part of the story. The real drama is happening behind the scenes with a massive leadership shakeup and a tech partnership that sounds like something out of a sci-fi flick.
The Furner Era Begins With a Bang
John Furner is officially stepping into the big shoes. With Doug McMillon moving on, Furner isn't just "keeping the seat warm." He basically just set the C-suite on fire—in a good way.
On Friday, he announced a massive overhaul. David Guggina, the guy who has been running the e-commerce engine, is taking over as CEO of Walmart U.S. This is a huge signal. It tells you exactly where the company’s head is at: online, fast, and digital-first. Meanwhile, Kathryn McLay is out, and Sam's Club boss Chris Nicholas is moving over to lead the International division.
It’s a lot of names to keep track of, but the takeaway is simple.
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Walmart is no longer a "retailer that has a website." It’s a tech company that happens to have 4,600 giant warehouses called stores.
Walmart Stock Today: The Google Gemini Factor
Here is the thing that most people are missing. On January 11, Walmart and Google announced they’re basically merging their brains. They are launching an experience where Google’s Gemini AI lives inside the Walmart app.
It's called "agentic commerce."
Imagine telling your phone, "I'm making tacos tonight for six people, and I need a new blender," and the AI just... handles it. It checks your past purchases, picks the salsa you like, finds a blender in stock at the store two miles away, and schedules a delivery for 4:00 PM.
Sundar Pichai and John Furner are betting that we’re moving away from "searching" for products and toward "delegating" our shopping.
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Why the Math is Getting Weird (The P/E Problem)
Some analysts are getting a bit sweaty about the valuation. Right now, WMT is trading at a Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio of about 42.
That is expensive. Like, "tech stock" expensive.
For comparison, the S&P 500 average is sitting much lower, and even historical "high-growth" retailers usually don't command that kind of premium. If you look at the bears, like some of the folks at DailyForex, they’re worried that the stock is "overbought." They see a P/E of 42 and think the market has priced in way too much perfection.
But then you have the bulls. TD Cowen just named Walmart their "Best Idea for 2026." They have a price target of $136. They aren't looking at the grocery aisles; they’re looking at the 33% growth in advertising revenue and the 27% jump in e-commerce.
Walmart is starting to look like Amazon. They’re making money on ads and memberships (Walmart+), which have much higher margins than selling a gallon of milk.
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The Tariff Cloud on the Horizon
We have to talk about the elephant in the room: tariffs.
Walmart imports a massive amount of goods. If trade tensions ramp up later this year, it hits Walmart harder than almost anyone else. They have two choices: raise prices or eat the cost.
- Option A: Raise prices and risk losing the "value" crown to Dollar General.
- Option B: Eat the cost and watch profit margins shrink, which would likely send the stock tumbling back toward the $100 mark.
So far, they’ve managed to "trade up" customers. Interestingly, more high-income households (people making $100k+) are shopping at Walmart now than ever before. They’re coming for the convenience, not just the low prices.
What You Should Actually Do
If you’re looking at wal mart stock today, don't just stare at the daily ticker. The $0.24 quarterly dividend is nice (next one hits April 7, 2026), but you don't buy WMT for the yield. You buy it because they’re currently winning the delivery war.
About 35% of their digital orders are now being delivered in under three hours. That is insane. They are using their stores as "micro-fulfillment centers," which is something Amazon still struggles to do at this scale.
Next steps for your portfolio:
- Watch the $122 resistance level. If the stock breaks and holds above its recent highs, it could run to $130 quickly.
- Monitor the February earnings call. This will be the first big test for the new leadership team.
- Check the "Retail Media" growth. If advertising revenue slows down, the high P/E ratio becomes very hard to justify.
The bottom line? Walmart is a tech-pivot story now. It's risky at these prices, but they’ve proven they can out-execute almost anyone in the "last mile" of delivery.