Gas Giant Walmart Building More Fueling Stations to Offset Tariffs

Retail giant Walmart (WMT) is stepping on the gas to drive sales by opening up new fueling stations across the U.S.

Low Prices

Walmart is opening up over 45 new gas stations this year and expanding hours and adding more car capacity at existing sites. Indeed, the new sites will take its gas station portfolio to 450 locations across 34 states.

“Our one-stop shops offer low prices at the pumps, and Walmart+ members save up to 10 cents per gallon with their membership,” said Amanda Cantu, a Walmart spokesperson. The sites also offer a wide range of grab-and-go items such as food and drink and other products.

Walmart rivals such as Costco (COST) and Dollar General (DG), even in this age of energy transition to electric vehicles, are also fueling up their strategies.

Earlier this year Costco announced that they would be expanding the hours of their members-only fuel centers, with most to stay open until 10 p.m., rather than 9 p.m., and still well beyond the typical 6 p.m. closing time of the store.

Tariff Relief

“Retailers are looking for a way to incentivize consumers to forgo competitors, and adding gas offerings or other services is certainly a lever that chains can utilize,” according to Elizabeth Lafontaine, director of research at analytics firm Placer.ai.

Usha Haley, an expert on international strategy and currently the W. Frank Barton Distinguished Chair in International Business at Wichita State University, said Walmart’s gas move could even help the group cope with the challenges of tariffs.

Walmart has warned that it will have to hike prices because of higher tariff costs. “As gas prices are expected to fall initially under President Trump’s policies, Walmart plans to compensate for some of the tariff-induced losses – before gas prices rise again, as they probably will,” Haley said.

Is WMT a Good Stock to Buy Now?

On TipRanks, WMT has a Strong Buy consensus based on 28 Buy and 2 Hold ratings. Its highest price target is $120. WMT stock’s consensus price target is $109.38 implying an 12.22% upside.

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