Walmart warns ‘unprecedented’ price hikes are coming as tariffed goods start to hit shelves

Walmart said Thursday it plans to increase prices this month as tariffed goods start to hit shelves — warning that the size and speed of the price hikes could be “unprecedented”.

The Arkansas-based retail giant has already started raising markups on certain items as suppliers pass along the additional costs. Bananas, for example, jumped to 54 cents a pound, up from 50 cents, according to Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey.

“The magnitude and speed at which these prices are coming to us is somewhat unprecedented in history,” Rainey told the Wall Street Journal.

Earlier this week, the US reached a temporary deal with China to lower their respective rates for 90 days and allow more time for negotiations.

Trump slashed his tariff on China to 30% from 145%, which boosted markets.

While a 30% tariff is better, it’s still “too high,” and will lead to higher prices for the consumer “towards the tail end of this month, and then certainly much more in June,” Rainey told CNBC.

That’s been a big fear for investors, who sent stock indexes on steep declines after Trump revealed his harsh tariffs on many nations in early April. 

At the same time, the company plans to absorb some tariff costs to “play offense” and keep its prices lower than competitors’, Rainey told CNBC.

The world’s largest retailer on Thursday maintained its full-year guidance, but withheld its profit forecast for the current quarter as it warned it’s facing a dynamic environment.

While many other retailers reported disappointing earnings in the most recent quarter, Walmart saw a sales boom as shoppers – fearful that President Trump’s trade war could reheat inflation or trigger a recession – flocked to the chain’s discounts and speedy shipping.

Consumer sentiment has plunged, and the nation’s economy unexpectedly shrank in the first three months of 2025 as companies rushed to import goods ahead of the tariffs.

Retailers suspended their annual forecasts and disclosed dismal earnings – but Walmart on Thursday reported strong sales.

Its US same-store sales jumped 4.5% for Walmart locations and 6.7% for Sam’s Club in the three months ending May 2, above expectations. 

Walmart’s e-commerce sales rose 21% in the US, its 12th double-digit gain in a row. Global online sales jumped 22% from the year before.

Net income fell to $4.49 billion, or 56 cents a share, down from $5.10 billion, or 63 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Revenue rose about 2.5% from $161.5 billion, including a 1% headwind since Leap Day took place last year. However, it missed expectations of $165.84 billion – its first quarterly revenue miss since February 2020.

Yet the retailer expects to come out on top amid the trade war, saying more high-income households chose Walmart for groceries in the previous quarter and customers shopped the chain’s affordable brand and temporary deals.

“History tells us that when we lean into these periods of uncertainty, Walmart emerges on the other side with greater share and a stronger business,” Rainey said last month after the company announced it would stick to its full-year forecasts.

Walmart has not canceled any orders, but it has cut back on the size of some purchases, buying less of items that it expects customers to pull back on due to the tariffs.