New York, March 3, 2026, 19:03 ET — After-hours
- Walmart shares rose 0.6% to $127.91, holding up better than the broader market
- Target jumped about 7% after an upbeat outlook and new turnaround push
- Focus turns to Friday’s U.S. jobs and retail-sales reports for the next cue
Walmart shares rose 0.6% on Tuesday and were last at $127.91 in extended trading, which runs after the 4 p.m. ET close. The stock traded between $125.54 and $128.36, with about 16.5 million shares changing hands.
The steadier tone in Walmart came as Wall Street sold off on worries the Middle East conflict could keep energy prices high and feed inflation. “This is the fear of it getting worse,” Oliver Pursche, senior vice president and adviser at Wealthspire Advisors, said. 1
Retail investors also had fresh news from Target, which rallied after CEO Michael Fiddelke laid out a turnaround plan and forecast annual sales growth. Target said it saw a “healthy, positive sales increase in February” and projected 2026 net sales growth of 2% after three years of declines, alongside more than $2 billion in spending this year. RBC analyst Steven Shemesh said the company now has to show the changes let it compete “with the likes of Walmart/Amazon.” 2
Big retail names finished mixed. Target gained 6.8%, Costco rose 0.5% and Amazon was little changed, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF fell 0.6% and the S&P 500 tracker SPY slipped 0.9%.
Walmart also had management out at investor events. The company said Daniel Danker, its EVP of AI Acceleration, Product and Design, would appear in a fireside chat at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom conference, with a transcript to be posted after the session. 3
Next up is a macro test that tends to hit retailers first: the U.S. February jobs report due March 6, along with January retail sales on the same day. A Reuters poll sees payroll growth of 60,000 jobs after January’s 130,000, and investors will be watching for any shift in rate-cut expectations. 4
But the same inflation anxiety that can push shoppers toward Walmart can also raise the company’s cost base, especially if fuel stays elevated and freight tightens. If the market starts treating higher prices as “sticky,” the defensive bid that helped Walmart on Tuesday can fade fast.
For Walmart traders, Friday’s jobs and retail-sales prints are the next clear catalyst — and any weekend headlines that swing oil, inflation bets and the consumer mood.
