BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Walmart will navigate inflationary pressure from elevated fuel pricing without swerving off its value message to consumers, executives said in reporting strong earnings and sales gains in its fiscal 2027 first quarter.

“When I look at the consumer, especially here in the US, they’re telling us they’re feeling some pressure and are looking to Walmart for value,” John Furner, president and chief executive officer of Walmart, told analysts in a May 21 conference call. “We’re continuing to invest in prices, extending the (price) rollbacks we started in the second half of last year, and we now have about 7,200 rollbacks in place.”

Rollbacks are up more than 20% from last year and providing a clear lift for Walmart, said John Rainey, chief financial officer.

“We’re continuing to lean into rollbacks and seasonal value programs to reinforce our price leadership,” Rainey said in the call. “And we’re seeing a strong response from customers through increased unit volumes.”

As in the past, Walmart will lean on its experience and capabilities in purchasing, merchandising, operations, technology and logistics to deal with rising cost concerns, led by tariffs last year and oil/gas this year, executives said.

“Our merchants have a lot of levers to be able to navigate all sorts of environments,” Furner noted. “I think we’re positioned well to weather all environments, and we’ll continue to do the right things in terms of investing in the best proposition for our customers.”

For the first quarter ended April 30, Walmart’s net income climbed 19% to $5.33 billion, equal to 67¢ per share on the common stock, from $4.49 billion, or 56¢ per share, a year earlier. Excluding the impact of changes in equity and other investments and business reorganization charges, adjusted earnings per share was 66¢, up from 61¢ a year ago. Analysts, on average, had projected adjusted EPS of 66¢ for the quarter.

Walmart reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 guidance. The company forecasts adjusted EPS of $2.75 to $2.85 and net sales growth (constant currency) of 3.5% to 4.5%, along with a 6% to 8% increase in adjusted operating income, which rose 11% in the first quarter.

“While there are certainly pressures on the consumer, our business is strong; we are executing on the important strategic initiatives that are critical to our future sales and earnings growth,” Rainey said. “Our value proposition of low prices with convenience continues to resonate with customers and is the primary reason new customers shop with us.”

Rainey noted that Walmart’s full-year doesn’t assume any impact from IEEPA tariff refunds, which the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer is pursuing.

“We felt it best to provide guidance that reflects our expectations for the underlying business, excluding any recovery of tariffs paid,” Rainey said. “We are participating in the process, and we believe that the maximum refunds we may be eligible to receive as the importer of record represent less than half of 1% of our US annual sales.”

At Walmart US, comparable sales excluding fuel grew 4.1%, lifted in part by a 3% rise in customer transactions.

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In response to an analyst question on tariff rebates as a possible offset to higher energy costs, Rainey said Walmart would look toward price investment.

“On tariffs, we are availing ourselves of the process to get refunds,” he said. “We would definitely bias and try to prioritize price investment for that, given what we’ve seen both in terms of the pressure on consumers from fuel prices. But importantly, as well as the retention and the share gains that we’ve had, we think the single best return that we can have on $1 of capital right now is to invest in the customer and invest in price.”

At the top line, Walmart’s consolidated revenue climbed 7% year over year to $177.75 billion from $165.61 billion and was up nearly 6% in constant currency. Walmart said 26% growth in global e-commerce sales boosted results. Reported operating income grew 5% to $7.5 billion and was up 2.5% in constant currency, with the company noting a 250-basis-point negative impact from higher fuel costs in distribution and fulfillment.

“We continue to play offense despite the short-term pressure on profits,” Rainey said. “We’re confident this was the right approach to reinforce customer trust and support share gains over the long term. We’re always focused on providing low prices for customers; EDLP (everyday low pricing) is core to who we are. That said, these are real impacts the cost of goods sold for us and our suppliers. And if the current elevated cost environment persists, we’d expect somewhat higher retail price inflation in Q2 and the second half of the year.”

Walmart US net sales for the quarter came in at $117.17 billion, up 4.5% from $112.16 billion a year ago and lifted by 26% e-commerce sales growth. Comparable sales excluding fuel rose 4.1%, as customer transactions increased 3% and the average ticket size grew 1.1%. Walmart said e-commerce contributed 530 basis points to US comp-sales growth. Operating income increased 3.5% to $5.9 billion and was up 5.7% adjusted.

“I can’t remember a year where competitive pricing isn’t always top of mind,” Furner said. “This is an industry, particularly in food, where everyone is looking for value and has been for a really long time. What the team has done in particular at both Sam’s (Club) and Walmart US in the last quarter is focus on where are the places that we want to provide the very best value we can, and on top of that, an experience that puts the customer right in the driver's seat.”