Walmart Pledges to Be Transparent on Price Hikes With Customers and Trump

U.S. retail giant Walmart (WMT) has pledged to remain honest and transparent with its customers, investors and President Trump regarding any future price hikes at the group.

Facts Not Politics

“We don’t aim to be a political figure. We are providing facts as they come,” Dan Bartlett, executive vice president of corporate affairs, said in a discussion about tariffs at the company’s annual shareholders’ week in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Last month, the world’s largest retailer said it would increase prices on a broad range of products, citing higher costs from tariffs on Chinese and Latin American imports.

This infuriated the President, who blasted Walmart, declaring it should “eat the tariffs” rather than pass its increased costs onto consumers.

Mind the Gap

Bartlett said that Walmart aims to be consistent with what it shares internally among employees and externally to the public. He said it has an obligation to tell investors and customers how it was thinking about future guidance.

Walmart has said that price changes will become more pronounced as the year progresses. It said that some prices won’t change, thanks in part to production moves and some suppliers changing materials to mitigate tariffs.

The company vowed to maintain price gaps with competitors and keep prices as low as possible.

That is vital for Walmart as it is seen as a value retailer for shoppers feeling the pressure on their budgets from rises in the cost of living.

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 $109.71 implying an 12.02% upside.

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