Walmart is the world’s largest retailer by revenue. Its revenue has steadily increased over the past several years. During fiscal-year (FY) 2023 (the 12 months ending on January 31, 2023), Walmart generated total revenues of $611 billion. We reviewed Walmart’s FY 2023 results to learn more. Following are some highlights:

  • Walmart’s total revenues grew by 7% year over year (YoY) in FY 2023, up from 2% YoY in FY 2022.
  • Walmart’s operating income declined in FY 2023, reaching $20 billion. The operating profit margin declined from 5% in FY 2022 to 3% in FY 2023 (please see below for the graphic covering Walmart profits analysis).
  • The company reported a net profit of $12 billion in FY 2023, with a net profit margin of 2%.

To understand the drivers behind Walmart’s sales and profits performance, we analyzed the company’s sales and profits by business segments and merchandise categories. Following are the top 10 insights from our analysis:

  1. Walmart U.S. is the biggest segment by net sales. Walmart reports sales for three business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. Walmart U.S. accounted for 69% of total revenues during FY 2023. Walmart International (17%) and Sam’s Club (14%) accounted for the balance of total revenues. In FY 2023, the company reported net sales for each of Walmart U.S. ($421 billion), Walmart International ($101 billion), and Sam’s Club ($84 billion) (please see the graphic on Walmart sales analysis below).
  2. Walmart’s revenues primarily come from the US. During FY 2023, Walmart derived 83% of revenues from its US operations and the remaining 17% from its non-US operations.
  3. Walmart e-commerce sales growth continues to outpace store sales growth. In FY 2023, Walmart generated $82 billion in sales from e-commerce globally, representing 13% of total revenues. Walmart total e-commerce sales grew by 12% YoY, compared to 6% YoY growth of sales from stores.
  4. Walmart e-commerce sales across all business segments grew by double digits. Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales grew 12% YoY to reach $53 billion in FY 2023. Walmart International e-commerce sales grew by 10% YoY to reach $20 billion, and Sam’s Club e-commerce sales grew by 22% YoY to $8 billion.
  5. Walmart U.S. is the most profitable business segment. Walmart U.S. had an operating margin of 5% during FY 2023. Operating margins were lower for Walmart International (3%) and Sam’s Club (2%).

 

  1. Walmart U.S. growth came from grocery. In FY 2023, grocery accounted for $247 billion of sales for Walmart U.S., with a YoY growth rate of 13%. Health and wellness products saw growth of 9% YoY, while general merchandise sales declined by -6% YoY (please see the graphic below covering Walmart sales analysis by category and market).
  2. Walmart International’s sales growth came from Mexico and Central America. Of the $101 billion net sales of Walmart International in FY 2023, 40% of those sales came from Mexico and Central America. Sales from this market grew 13% YoY. Sales from Canada and China grew by 2% and 6%, respectively. Walmart divested its stake in Asda in the UK in February 2021, resulting in Walmart reporting zero sales from the UK. Walmart also divested its majority stake in Seiyu in Japan in March 2021, resulting in declining growth of the “Other” category of Walmart International. India will become Walmart’s biggest market outside the US in 2023, thanks to its majority stake in Flipkart and PhonePe.
  1. Sam’s Club’s growth was driven by grocery and consumables sales. Grocery and consumables accounted for $53 billion of total net sales for Sam’s Club in FY 2023, with a YoY growth rate of 13%. Health and wellness product sales grew by 7% YoY, while home and apparel sales grew by 6% YoY. Technology, office, and entertainment sales declined by -5%.
  2. Grocery is the biggest category for Walmart. Grocery accounted for well over half of total sales for Walmart U.S. (59%) and Sam’s Club (63%). All told, Walmart generated a total of $300 billion in sales from grocery in the US during FY 2023. Walmart does not provide a breakdown by merchandise category for the Walmart International segment.
  3. Health and wellness is a growing segment for Walmart. Health and wellness accounted for 11% of Walmart U.S. segment total sales and 5% of Sam’s Club segment total sales. Walmart generated a total of $51 billion in sales from the health and wellness category in the US in FY 2023.

Over the next five years, Walmart plans to derive more profit from services and ad sales by investing in its third-party marketplace on Walmart.com. Walmart Marketplace currently offers more than 400 million products. If you are a Forrester client, please see our 2022 Online Marketplace Tracker, Global to learn how Walmart Marketplace compares to other global marketplaces. To discuss these findings further, please schedule a guidance session or inquiry with Michael O’Grady and me!