Beau of The Fifth Column
Let's talk about Walmart, tariffs, and the unsaid part that matters to you....
23 Aug 2025
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Well, howdy there internet people, it's Belle again. So today, we're going to talk about Walmart, tariffs, and the unsaid part that matters to you.
Chapter 2: What economic news did Walmart recently announce?
So, Walmart raised its earnings and sales outlook for the whole year. Honestly, that's the best economic news we've had to report in a while. It signals that Walmart doesn't see the bottom dropping out of consumer spending over the next few months. There's more to it overall when it comes to what matters to normal people. Remember, most economic news is written for the investor class.
What's good for them and what's good for you isn't necessarily the same thing.
Chapter 3: How are tariffs impacting Walmart's pricing strategy?
The company's chief financial officer, John David Rainey, said something that is incredibly important for people to pair with the good news. Quote, Tariff impacted costs are continuing to drift upwards. Tariff costs are going upward.
Chapter 4: What does Walmart's earnings per share outlook mean for consumers?
Okay. He also said that consumers are being very resilient. Now, sadly, you need to learn a financial vocabulary term that most people don't really know. Earnings. When you see that in financial headlines, what they normally mean is earnings per share. That's a financial metric that determines how much profit a company makes for each share.
Chapter 5: How does Walmart's approach to tariffs affect consumer prices?
Walmart raised its earnings per share outlook just a little bit. Two cents. It literally raised it two cents. Now keep in mind that's profit after expenses. is two cents a lot. When you do the math, there's about 7.98 billion shares.
Chapter 6: What should consumers understand about inflation and Walmart's pricing?
So that means we're talking about an extra 160 million or so dollars profit off of that updated outlook. Adds up quick, right? Yeah, that's how Walmart makes money. A billion pennies here, a billion pennies there. Pretty soon, you're talking about real money. Okay, so what does it mean that Walmart is expecting to make an extra $160 million?
Remember, tariff-impacted costs are continuing to drift upwards. Walmart is definitely not eating those tariffs. It's not happening. If tariffs are raising costs and Walmart is expecting to profit more money, they aren't eating the costs. They're passing them on. Now, it's worth remembering that it's Walmart. They strive to be value-priced.
So, they might eat the tariffs on some products or categories of products long enough for other companies who don't have as wide a product selection to get into economic distress. Or, they might eat some of the tariffs on some items to keep up the volume of sales. But make no mistake, generally, you as the consumer are paying for the tariffs.
Every time Trump celebrates tariff revenue, remember, that's money he took out of your pocket. The other thing to remember is that Walmart is really good at business, cutthroat even, and they're really expansive. They can eat more costs over a longer period than other companies. If Walmart is passing on the tariffs, everybody else will too.
This was the canary in the coal mine for inflationary pressure reaching your pocket. If Walmart couldn't or wouldn't absorb the costs, nobody is going to. Trumpflation is inbound. Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.
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