{"id":39,"date":"2026-05-21T13:39:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=39"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:39:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:39:57","slug":"walmart-says-u-s-consumers-are-under-pressure-from-rising-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=39","title":{"rendered":"Walmart says U.S. consumers are under pressure from rising costs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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U.S. consumers are struggling with rising costs \u2014 and many are heading to Walmart.<\/p>\n

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The big-box retailer reported Thursday that its revenue rose 7.3% to $177.8 billion in the first quarter, and same-store U.S. sales grew 4.1%, thanks in part to growth from eCommerce and revenue from membership fees. Higher-income households are leading its gains across categories.<\/p>\n

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But Walmart\u2019s sales growth was only one part of the financial picture. The company also issued guidance to investors for the current quarter that fell short of expectations. <\/p>\n

As the nation\u2019s largest private employer and one of its biggest retailers, Walmart\u2019s quarterly earnings offer a window into how the U.S. economy and consumers are doing. Its report Thursday points to a consumer under pressure.<\/p>\n

Higher-income households, many benefiting from stock market gains and higher wage growth, are driving an outsized share of consumer spending. Meanwhile, many on the lower end of the \u201cK\u201d are finding their paychecks can\u2019t keep up with rising costs of food, housing, utilities and child care.<\/p>\n

In April, inflation jumped 3.8%, its highest level in nearly three years, as the Iran war drives up prices across the economy, including for gas and airfares. Regular gas averaged $4.56 nationwide on Thursday, far higher than the $2.98 right before the war, according to AAA. Diesel averaged $5.66, up around $2 since the start of the war.<\/p>\n

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And in April, consumer prices outpaced wage growth for the first time since 2003. The hit to Americans\u2019 wallets could worsen: Economists warn we have yet to feel the full economic effects of the war.<\/p>\n

Higher gas prices have hit companies and consumers alike, with Walmart noting fuel costs have partially offset its income gains.<\/p>\n

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The company anticipates consumers could feel the pinch from rising fuel prices even more moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think higher tax returns muted some of the pressure related to higher fuel prices and as we\u2019re in a period of time right now where those tax refunds are largely not coming in, I think consumers are going to feel more of that pressure from higher fuel prices,\u201d said Walmart chief financial officer John David Rainey in an interview with CNBC. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we\u2019re keeping a close eye on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walmart\u2019s earnings come just one day after Target reported that its net sales rose more than 6% over last year, though Target\u2019s shares still fell in trading Wednesday. Target, helmed by a new CEO, is looking to turn around years of faltering sales, with some consumers expressing frustration over what they said were disorganized stores and rollbacks of the company\u2019s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.<\/p>\n

But in the retail wars, the new king is Amazon, which recently overtook Walmart as the biggest global company by revenue. Walmart has been positioning itself as a tech-forward competitor to Amazon \u2014 including through investments in artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

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Major companies could stand to benefit big-time from tariff refunds \u2014 after the Supreme Court ruled against some of President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Citi analysts estimate Walmart could get more than $10 billion and Target more than $2 billion \u2014 with many other retailers expected to get millions.<\/p>\n

Walmart, in its earnings report, said its guidance \u201cdoes not assume any impact from IEEPA tariff refunds.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Walmart reported positive earnings, but U.S. consumers are struggling with rising costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-consumer"],"yoast_head":"\nWalmart says U.S. consumers are under pressure from rising costs - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=39\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Walmart says U.S. consumers are under pressure from rising costs - Trusted Moving Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Walmart reported positive earnings, but U.S. consumers are struggling with rising costs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=39\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trusted Moving Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T13:39:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f9480c2d671d8309fd544f9607a8cf22.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=39#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=39\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa\"},\"headline\":\"Walmart says U.S. consumers are under pressure from rising costs\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-21T13:39:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=39\"},\"wordCount\":588,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=39#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/f9480c2d671d8309fd544f9607a8cf22.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Consumer\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=39#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=39\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=39\",\"name\":\"Walmart says U.S. consumers are under pressure from rising costs - 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