Key points:

  • Walmart may receivetariff refunds, amounting to less than 0.5% of its annual U.S. sales, or about $2.4 billion. CFO John David Rainey said on Thursday that these funds could be used to support lower product prices.
  • These remarks were made during Walmart's fiscal 2027 first-quarter earnings call for the period ending April 30. Rainey stated that, given the pressure fuel prices are putting on consumers, Walmart would "clearly lean toward prioritizing" using tariff refunds for price reductions.
  • "We believe the best return on every dollar of capital right now is investing in customers and investing in price," he said.

In-depth analysis:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began last monthaccepting refund applications from companiesfor tariffs that must be refunded after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled them invalid in February.

In a court filing submitted last week, the agency said that as of May 11, it had processed$35.46 billion in tariff refunds including interest. The filing stated that over 15 million entry records, including those already refunded, have been validated.

Walmart is one of many companies that mentioned this topic during recent earnings calls.

Ford Motor Co. CFO Sherry House said on an earnings call in late April that the company had recognizeda $1.3 billion gainrelated to potential tariff refunds in the first quarter. The disclosure came one day after rival General Motors announced it wasraising its full-year 2026 guidance。

based on expectations of receiving about $500 million in tariff refunds.

Rainey said Walmart has not included any expected tariff recoveries in its financial outlook.

"We believe the best approach is to provide guidance that reflects the underlying business expectations, without including any recovery of tariffs already paid," he said.

The CFO warned that persistently high fuel prices could lead to higher retail inflation later this year. Meanwhile, Walmart maintained its full-year guidance and expects sales growth to be at the upper end of its range.The retail giantreported first-quarter revenue of $177.8 billion, up about 7.3% year over year. According to Rainey, the company absorbed about $175 million in costs due to higher-than-planned fuel expenses in its global delivery and fulfillment operations, equivalent to about 250 basis points of operating profit growth.

"Despite short-term pressure on profits, we will continue to be proactive," he said.

Walmart previously reportedtotal revenue of $713.2 billion for fiscal 2026, with U.S. net sales of $483 billion.