be twice that or more if you or I wanted to spring for it.)  Now, more than 60 years on from its founding, one of the company’s biggest engines of growth is e-commerce – Walmart’s e-commerce business globally has officially hit profitability – a remarkable achievement for any legacy retailer that once put all its eggs in the real estate basket. It has been enabled not only by relentless investment in logistics, but, as CFO John David Rainey explains, by the ‘densification’ of its customer network, which solved the problem of the treacherous ‘last mile’ of delivery that has bedevilled e-commerce operators from the outset.  “We have more customers that are coming to Walmart now and taking advantage of our e-commerce offerings. We’re able to spread those deliveries over multiple households. So, think about the opportunity to deliver a package to five houses on a street versus one house on a street. And so as we grow, we continue to spread those costs over more volume,” Rainey said. That’s not all: the company has been able to use its vast store network as part of the e-commerce fulfillment system. And customers have been willing to stump up for expedited delivery. Rainey noted that a third of the e-commerce company’s customers in the February-April quarter paid for delivery in one to three hours.  Membership income is also rising sharply The quarter ending April 30 was the first of Walmart’s fiscal 2026, and saw the company reel in consolidated revenue of $165.6 billion, an increase of 2.5 per cent year-over-year (4.0 per cent adjusted for currency fluctuation). Gross margin edged up fractionally to 24.2 per cent, operating income grew by 4.3 per cent and net after tax profit was $4.6 billion, down 12.6 per cent year-on-year. The top line benefited from global e-commerce growth of 22 per cent, membership income growth of 14.8 per cent and advertising growth of 50 per cent. The company’s fiscal year guidance of $674.5 billion of net sales remains unchanged. Walmart US (which doesn’t include domestic Sam’s Clubs) brought in revenues of $112.2 billion, accounting for 68 per cent of total company revenues. Comparable-store sales for Walmart US were up 4.5 per cent. Transaction counts and average transaction values both increased. Leading categories were health and wellness, and grocery, with general merchandise slightly in the red. (General merchandise has been deflationary for more than a year, according to Rainey. But tariffs on Chinese imports may reverse that as the year goes on.) For Sam’s Club in the US, net sales were up 2.9 per cent and represented just under 17 per cent of total US revenues for the quarter. Comps were up 6.7 per cent. International strong as membership income soars Walmart International, which includes non-US Sam’s Club wholesale stores, accounted for$29.8 billion, or 18 per cent of company revenues, in the first quarter. Sales growth was flat, but on a constant currency basis improved by 7.8 per cent. China, Flipkart and Walmex were the growth leaders. Membership income is growing in leaps and bounds, increasing by another 22 per cent year on year. E-commerce grew by 20 per cent. China: e-commerce, Sam’s galloping ahead In China, year-on-year sales rose by 22.5 per cent on a constant currency basis, to $6.7 billion. Comparable store sales grew by 16.8 per cent with Sam’s and e-commerce the big engines of growth. At Sam’s, member income was up 40 per cent. Meanwhile, e-commerce growth in China is driven not just by range of merchandise and price but also on lightning delivery speeds. CEO Doug McMillon remarked to investors the company’s first-quarter earnings call that in regard to China and India “we’re frequently talking about delivery times that happen in minutes.”  Walmart’s strong business in China is all the more impressive in that it is occurring against the backdrop of much more sedate sales growth for China as a whole. The National Bureau of Statistics reported year-on-year retail sales growth for consumer goods of 5.1 per cent in April, following 4.6 per cent growth in the January-March period. Retail sales of services have been increasing at a similar rate, and e-commerce sales of physical merchandise were not left out either: they too increased in the mid-single digits. Tariffs are still top of mind The conversation in retail circles never seems to wander too far away from the tariff situation, regarding which McMillon was slightly more gloomy despite congratulating the administration on the 90-day pause in the elevated tariff on China. He admitted the company couldn’t absorb the cost of the tariffs, even at the lower level, without raising prices to customers. John David Rainey warned that the ups and downs of the ongoing tariff situation could lead to more volatility in financial performance over the coming months.  For Walmart, most of the pressure on prices emanating from tariffs on Chinese imports is in discretionary categories such as electronics and toys. Food was less affected, but not unaffected because tariffs on Latin American countries were driving price increases on some items like bananas and coffee.  A problem affecting all retailers importing from China, and Walmart in particular, because of its huge volumes, is in inventory planning. And while the back office has so far done an adroit job managing inventory in rapidly changing tariff scenarios, that job is more difficult for events with a longer time horizon, such as Halloween and then the holiday season that follows. What retailers like Walmart are begging for right now is some clarity. Sure, they want the tariffs to be as low as possible, but even more than that, they want to have some certainty so they can plan. Right now, all the crystal balls are foggy. Further reading: Walmart unveils digital revamp amidst battle for supremacy with Amazon