Walmart Stock (WMT) Wobbles on Leak That it Prefers Microsoft to Google

Shares in retail giant Walmart (WMT) slipped 0.6% today despite reports that it is stepping up its use of AI.

Rock and Rolling With MSFT

The revelation that Walmart was looking at using Microsoft’s (MSFT) Entra and AI Gateway services came as a result of a mistake at a talk by the tech giant’s head of security for AI.

Neta Haiby revealed confidential messages about Walmart’s plans at a Build talk after the livestream was interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters.

After the protesters were escorted out, the livestream session restarted and the sensitive messages were seen on Microsoft Teams.

“Walmart is ready to rock and roll with Entra Web and AI Gateway,” said one of Microsoft’s cloud solution architects in the Teams messages. The chat session also quoted a Walmart AI engineer, saying: “Microsoft is WAY ahead of Google (GOOGL) with AI security. We are excited to go down this path with you.”

Walmart is already a major Microsoft customer using the company’s Azure OpenAI service for some of its AI work.

Game-Changing AI

According to Microsoft, Entra offers users secure access for their workforce, workload, and customer identities to multicloud and on-premises resources.

In its website blurb, it offers users the chance to take advantage of game-changing generative AI, risk-based access policies, and phishing-resistant, password-free authentication to block attacks and protect your workforce, customers, and machine identities.

Cyber attacks on retailers are in the news with the U.K.’s Marks & Spencer reeling from a recent and still ongoing hit which is likely to cost it £300 million in lost profits.

An API Gateway can help streamline the integration of multiple AI models. This is an area Walmart is keen to invest in, including operationally in the production of clothes and to boost customer service.

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 $109.31 implying an 12.62% upside.

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