Walmart Stock Forecast: Analysts See A.I.-Driven Upside

(WMT) stock has fallen 6.7% over the past week but is still up 4.6% over the last month and an impressive 29.7% over the past year. Wall Street’s analysts are strongly bullish, with a StrongBuy consensus and a 12‑month average price target of $134.69, implying further upside from the last close at $124.87.

Joe Thomas of HSBC México cut his rating on Walmart from Buy to Hold, while lifting his price target to $131, seeing limited near‑term momentum. He notes solid Q4 results, with all divisions performing broadly as expected, margins improving and operating leverage returning, but flags a surprisingly weak 2026 outlook and reduced forecasts.

Thomas highlights that e‑commerce volumes are surging, with global online sales up 24% and U.S. e‑commerce growing 27% to reach 23% penetration, and Walmart Connect advertising expanding 41%. Yet he argues that Walmart’s valuation discount to Costco has largely disappeared even though consensus sees slightly slower EPS growth, tempering his enthusiasm; this analyst ranks 9,579 out of 12,061 with a 0% success rate and a -13% average return per rating.

By contrast, Oliver Chen of TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating with a higher $145 target, calling Walmart a future A.I. retail leader as conversational commerce reshapes how customers shop. Chen points to a Q4 EPS beat, strong U.S. comps of 4.6%, a 10.5% jump in operating margin and powerful digital trends, including Sparky, Walmart’s A.I. assistant, which he says is driving about 35% higher average order values.

Simeon Gutman of Morgan Stanley also reiterated Buy with a $135 target, emphasizing Walmart’s e‑commerce “flywheel” and a “big‑get‑bigger” dynamic as scale and technology fuel market share gains. He sees record growth in online sales, advertising and Walmart+ membership fees driving more than 10% adjusted operating income growth even as Walmart deepens grocery price rollbacks; Gutman ranks 1,803 with a 60.69% success rate and 4.4% average return.

Rounding out the bullish camp, Bank of America’s Robert Ohmes reaffirmed Buy with a Street‑high $150 price objective after Q4 EPS and U.S. comps topped expectations. Ohmes cites 27% U.S. e‑commerce growth, 4.6% comps driven by higher traffic and ticket, broad category strength and growing high‑margin revenue from membership, digital advertising and marketplace fees, and he ranks 1,015 with a 58.33% success rate and an 8.1% average return; investors can track all these calls and more on TipRanks’ Top Wall Street Analysts page.