What dominates the section
- Omnichannel execution, eCommerce investment, and digital systems are central to Walmart’s growth and operating performance.
- Product safety, marketplace seller liability, suppliers, and pharmacy disruptions create customer, regulatory, and reputational exposure.
- Global operations expose Walmart to labor, trade, tax, legal, geopolitical, and stakeholder pressures.
The risks most specific to Walmart
- Strategic Risks
Failure to successfully execute our omni-channel strategy and the cost of our investments in eCommerce and technology may materially adversely affect our market position, net sales and financial performance
Walmart may lose market position or incur weaker sales and profits if eCommerce and omnichannel investments do not succeed.
- Strategic Risks
The performance of strategic alliances and other business relationships to support the expansion of our business could materially adversely affect our financial performance
Strategic relationships, including the ONE fintech venture, may fail to deliver expected sales or profitability or harm Walmart’s competitive position.
- Operational Risks
Risks associated with our suppliers could materially adversely affect our financial performance
Supplier failures involving product availability, labor, safety, anti-corruption, or environmental standards could disrupt Walmart’s global sourcing and financial performance.
- Operational Risks
If the quality or safety of products we sell in stores or online fails to meet our customers' expectations or regulatory standards, we could lose customers, incur liability for any injuries caused by a product we sell or otherwise experience a material impact to our brand, reputation and financial performance
Defective or unsafe products sold in Walmart stores or online could trigger recalls, customer injuries, liability, and brand damage.
- Operational Risks
If the quality or safety of products offered for sale on our third-party marketplace fails to meet our customers' expectations or regulatory standards, we could be held directly liable, lose customers, become subject to regulatory enforcement or otherwise experience reputational harm
Third-party marketplace products could expose Walmart to direct liability, regulatory enforcement, customer losses, and reputational harm.
- Operational Risks
pharmaceuticals. Any such disruption could cause reputational damage and result in a significant number of our pharmacy customers transferring their prescriptions to other pharmacies
Disruptions affecting brand-name or generic pharmaceuticals could reduce pharmacy sales, margins, and prescription volumes as customers transfer to other pharmacies.
- Operational Risks
Our failure to attract and retain qualified associates, increases in wage and benefit costs, changes in laws and other labor issues could materially adversely affect our financial performance
Difficulty attracting qualified associates, higher wage and benefit costs, or labor-law changes could impair Walmart’s stores, clubs, facilities, and offices.
- Legal, Tax, Regulatory, Compliance, Reputational and Other Risks
Changes in tax and trade laws, regulations and interpretations could materially adversely affect our financial performance
Tax, tariff, trade-barrier, and import or export changes could affect Walmart’s predominantly U.S.-generated sales and product costs.
- Legal, Tax, Regulatory, Compliance, Reputational and Other Risks
monitored and subject to heightened scrutiny from regulatory authorities on these matters leading to possible negative publicity, additional litigation proceedings and reputational harm, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business operations, financial position and results of operations
FTC litigation over money-transfer agent services and U.S. Attorney subpoenas could bring scrutiny, publicity, further litigation, and reputational harm.
- Legal, Tax, Regulatory, Compliance, Reputational and Other Risks
Not satisfying stakeholder expectations with respect to our ESG efforts could adversely affect our reputation or subject us to regulatory or litigation risk
Failure to meet evolving stakeholder expectations for Walmart’s ESG efforts could damage its reputation or create regulatory and litigation risk.
All 24 risk factors
Headings as the filing states them, in filing order.
Strategic Risks
- 01Failure to successfully execute our omni-channel strategy and the cost of our investments in eCommerce and technology may materially adversely affect our market position, net sales and financial performance
- 02If we do not timely identify or effectively respond to consumer trends or preferences, it could negatively affect our reputation, relationship with our customers, demand for the products and services we sell, our market share and the growth of our business
- 03We face strong competition from other retailers, wholesale club operators, omni-channel retailers and other businesses which could materially adversely affect our financial performance
- 04General or macro-economic factors, both domestically and internationally, may materially adversely affect our financial performance
- 05The performance of strategic alliances and other business relationships to support the expansion of our business could materially adversely affect our financial performance
Operational Risks
- 06Global or regional health pandemics or epidemics could negatively impact our business, financial position and results of operations
- 07Natural disasters, climate change, geopolitical events, catastrophic and other events could materially adversely affect our financial performance
- 08Risks associated with our suppliers could materially adversely affect our financial performance
- 09If the quality or safety of products we sell in stores or online fails to meet our customers' expectations or regulatory standards, we could lose customers, incur liability for any injuries caused by a product we sell or otherwise experience a material impact to our brand, reputation and financial performance
- 10If the quality or safety of products offered for sale on our third-party marketplace fails to meet our customers' expectations or regulatory standards, we could be held directly liable, lose customers, become subject to regulatory enforcement or otherwise experience reputational harm
- 11We rely extensively on information and financial systems to process transactions, summarize results and manage our business. Disruptions in our systems could harm our ability to conduct our operations
- 12If the technology-based systems that give our customers the ability to shop with us online and enable us to deliver products and services do not function effectively, our operating results, as well as our ability to grow our omni-channel business globally, could be materially adversely affected
- 13pharmaceuticals. Any such disruption could cause reputational damage and result in a significant number of our pharmacy customers transferring their prescriptions to other pharmacies
- 14Our failure to attract and retain qualified associates, increases in wage and benefit costs, changes in laws and other labor issues could materially adversely affect our financial performance
- 15Illegal or inappropriate activity of our independent contractors or third-party service providers could expose us to liability and adversely affect our business, reputation and financial performance
Financial Risks
- 16Failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance could adversely affect the market price and volatility of our stock
- 17Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates may materially adversely affect our financial performance and our reported results of operations
Legal, Tax, Regulatory, Compliance, Reputational and Other Risks
- 18In addition to our U.S. operations, we operate retail and eCommerce businesses in Africa, Canada, Central America, Chile, China, India and Mexico
- 19Changes in tax and trade laws, regulations and interpretations could materially adversely affect our financial performance
- 20Changes in and/or failure to comply with other laws, regulations and interpretations of such laws and regulations specific to the businesses and jurisdictions in which we operate could materially adversely affect our reputation, market position or our business and financial performance
- 21We are subject to risks related to litigation and other legal proceedings that may materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial position and liquidity
- 22monitored and subject to heightened scrutiny from regulatory authorities on these matters leading to possible negative publicity, additional litigation proceedings and reputational harm, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business operations, financial position and results of operations
- 23We discuss in more detail these cases and other litigation to which we are party below under the caption "Item 3. Legal Proceedings" and in Note 10 in the "Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements," which are part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K
- 24Not satisfying stakeholder expectations with respect to our ESG efforts could adversely affect our reputation or subject us to regulatory or litigation risk
Other Walmart 10-Ks
- 2026 10-K risk factors
21 risks. Walmart faces dominant risks from executing its omnichannel and eCommerce strategy amidst fierce retail competition. International operations, global supply chains, and regulatory compliance heavily influence financial performance. Information systems disruptions and labor market dynamics threaten daily operations.
Filed Mar 13, 2026
About this page
Item 1A of the 10-K on EDGAR was split into its risk factors and, where the company's previous 10-K is on file, each heading was matched to last year's and the text compared word for word. The headings are the filing's own. The one-line readings and the overview were written by a language model from the text of the new, dropped, and rewritten risks; they refer to risks by position and cannot misquote a heading.