Faster Delivery Propels Walmart’s US E-Commerce Growth 26%

Walmart’s online business is showing no signs of slowing down in the U.S., and the retail giant is attributing part of the growth to its faster delivery speeds.

The Bentonville behemoth saw second-quarter e-commerce sales grow 26 percent in the U.S., inching up from the “low-20 percent growth range” delivered over the prior four quarters.

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According to chief financial officer John David Rainey, deliveries fulfilled from the store increased almost 50 percent from the year prior, with same-day delivery continuing to accelerate.

Approximately one-third of deliveries from store in recent weeks were completed in three hours or less, and 20 percent of those deliveries reached customers in 30 minutes or less.

Three-hour-or-less expedited delivery has been a major priority of the Walmart team since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the company first debuted its Express Delivery service across nearly 2,000 total stores.

As of May 2025, expedited delivery has since been expanded to more than 4,500 U.S. stores. Worldwide, Walmart now offers same-day delivery out of more than 6,500 stores.

“Our customers are responding to our delivery speeds. We see billions and billions of units at a high growth rate being delivered same day,” said John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., during the call. “I’m excited about what the team has done to lean into speed. We’re now covering 93 percent of the country under three hours. We think that will be 95 percent by the end of the year. So our reach is getting better, our speed is improving and customers love being able to deliver with speed.”

Walmart has been able to achieve a rare feat by making its e-commerce operation profitable, achieving profitability for the second straight quarter. Rainey said profitability continued to increase in the second quarter, with progress made on improving net delivery costs and more momentum in advertising as Walmart Connect saw revenues increase 31 percent.

Furner also said the merchandise mix offered online “has been better,” pointing to apparel as a strong point for general merchandise.

Like the Walmart U.S. branch, Sam’s Club also saw 26 percent e-commerce growth, with club-fulfilled delivery representing nearly 50 percent of this increase, even while curbside pickup was up double-digits.

The retail giant’s international presence saw e-commerce growth of 22 percent, with the company again highlighting the strengths of store-fulfilled pickup and delivery in powering that expansion.

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Markets like India and China have reaped the benefits of Walmart’s international supply chain investments.

In China, Walmart opened 33 one-hour delivery “cloud depots” throughout the quarter, bringing its nationwide total to 455 locations, according to Kathryn McLay, president and CEO of Walmart International.

With more than 50 percent of sales in China initiated online, Walmart can deliver more products to the customer in less than an hour.

E-commerce sales in China expanded 39 percent in the quarter, while it scaled up 24 percent and 21 percent in Canada and Mexico, respectively.

And in India, the company now operates 300 “minute FCs,” which enables Walmart to reach customers in less than fifteen minutes. Sixty of these MFCs are for Walmart-owned fashion retailer Myntra, which enables them to be able to get to the customer in under 30 minutes.

In the call, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the company sees lots of opportunities to expand on the recent deployment of its agentic AI capabilities after the release of its personal shopping assistant Sparky.

The CEO said agentic AI could help create digital twins of the company’s facilities, “which can help predict or prevent issues before they happen,” or create more accurate dynamic delivery windows, which McMillon expects will be offered for 95 percent of U.S. households by the end of 2025.

McMillon also noted that Walmart’s composition of inventory is in “good shape” up 3.8 percent globally to $57.7 billion and up 2.2 percent in Walmart U.S. But expect unit costs to increase amid the higher costs of importing goods in recent months due to tariffs.

“The impact of tariffs has been gradual enough that any behavioral adjustments by the customer have been somewhat muted,” said McMillon. “But as we replenish inventory at post-tariff price levels, we’ve continued to see our costs increase each week, which we expect will continue into the third and fourth quarters.”

For the second quarter, Walmart grew revenue 4.8 percent from a year ago to $177.4 billion, with Walmart’s U.S. sales rising 4.8 percent to $120.9 billion.

For the 2026 fiscal year, Walmart raised its outlook for net sales growth to 3.75 percent to 4.75 percent, up from the prior range of 3 percent to 4 percent. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) also increased to a $2.52 to $2.62 range, from a prior $2.50 to $2.60.

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