Walmart CEO commits to keeping prices low, says tariffs are an opportunity

As the Trump administration’s worldwide tariffs took effect on Wednesday, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told investors that it sees the situation as an opportunity to gain market share.

“We see opportunities to accelerate share gains and are maintaining flexibility to invest in price as tariffs are applied to incoming goods,” he said.

Amid reports that Walmart is haggling with its suppliers over price, McMillon also stressed that the company has been doing business with many of its partners for a long time and wants to see them navigate successfully through this environment.

“We want them to be successful,” he said. “We need them to be here. We want them to be able to invest in new product development.”

He added that two-thirds of what Walmart sells in the US is already “made, grown, or assembled here,” and the retailer plans to do its best to keep prices low.

As for that other third of goods, McMillon acknowledged that “embedded costs” could go up over time, in which case the company will get creative in its sourcing and product mix.

That doesn’t mean Walmart is immune to the uncertainty currently gripping the US economy. A decline in consumer sentiment has led to more sales volatility week to week, McMillon said, but the company still expects Q1 sales to fall in the expected range of 3%–4%. In addition, its annual forecast remains unchanged.

“What history tells us is that when we lean into these periods of economic uncertainty, Walmart emerges on the other side with greater share and a stronger business. We expect the current period to be no different,” he said.