Can Walmart's New CEO Send the Massive Retailer's Stock Soaring in 2026 (and Beyond?)

John Furner became president and CEO of Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) connected Feb. 1, 2026. He took implicit from Doug McMillon, who had led the institution since 2014.

While McMillon was CEO, shareholders earned returns exceeding 500% betwixt banal appreciation and dividends, outpacing the S&P 500's returns. With that success, Furner has large shoes to fill, prompting investors to inquire whether Walmart banal tin soar successful 2026.

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It goes without saying that Furner volition person to conscionable precocious expectations, but that becomes each the much existent fixed the authorities of Walmart arsenic helium takes over.

This was not existent for McMillon, who came successful erstwhile Walmart was struggling to vie against Amazon. At the time, investors had soured connected the stock, taking the P/E ratio down to 15.

McMillon turned Walmart into much of an omnichannel retailer and recovered a greater grade of occurrence internationally with a pivot into e-commerce. He besides offered much competitory wages to pull amended endowment and invested heavy successful tech-oriented proviso chains, applying artificial quality (AI) to amended efficiency.

In a sense, Furner looks similar a earthy prime for the job. He started arsenic a Sam's Club enforcement successful 2006, aboriginal becoming that segment's president and CEO. He besides led Walmart U.S. earlier taking the CEO job, presumably giving him a involvement successful his predecessor's success.

Still, contempt specified accolades, Furner has a hard occupation erstwhile it comes to stoking banal terms growth, and it's not conscionable due to the fact that Walmart's marketplace headdress concisely articulation the $1 trillion nine successful aboriginal February.

Walmart traded astatine a 42 P/E ratio erstwhile McMillon stepped down. That net aggregate is good supra the S&P 500's mean P/E ratio of 29. In presumption of its peers, it's overmuch much costly than the struggling Target at 13 times net but remains cheaper than Costco, which has a 50 P/E ratio.

Indeed, the 13% nett income maturation successful fiscal 2026 (ended Jan. 31) is awesome considering the debased margins successful the retail industry. Still, the precocious P/E ratio makes Walmart banal a people if expectations fall, leaving the banal vulnerable.

Moreover, Furner could conflict to physique connected the company's past growth. The astir 5,200 Walmart and Sam's Club stores successful the U.S. permission it small country to turn astatine home, and respective high-profile moves to physique stores extracurricular of North America ended successful nonaccomplishment successful past decades.