Walmart continues to eat up market share while growing sales at a rapid rate. In its 2025 annual report, issued late last month, the world’s largest retailer said its U.S. grocery sales for fiscal 2025 (year ended January 31, 2025) reached a record $276 billion.
That’s a gain of 4 percent from last year and 11 percent when compared to 2023 (as a comparison, the nation’s largest pure-play supermarket chain – Kroger – posted annual revenue of $150 billion last year). The grocery segment comprised 60 percent of Walmart’s overall U.S. sales. Additionally, the company’s e-commerce business continues to flourish, reaching $79 billion in fiscal 2025 up nearly 50 percent from 2023.
General merchandise was the second largest category at the Bentonville, AR-based merchant, accruing $113.9 billion in fiscal 2025, which was virtually flat from the prior year’s performance.
Ranking third was health and wellness where U.S revenues were $62.1 billion, up from $54.9 in fiscal 2024.
Another big gainer was Walmart’s e-commerce business, which reached $79 billion in sales, an increase of nearly 50 percent in the past two years.
Results at its club store unit, Sam’s Club, mirrored those of its core mass merchandising stores. Of Sam’s $90 billion in annual net sales, about $60 billion came from grocery. Another $2.3 billion was accrued from membership fees.
Other key statistics gleaned from its annual report showed that Walmart now operates 5,205 U.S. stores of which 3,559 were SuperCenters (ranging up to 260,000 square feet in size), and an additional 600 Sam’s Club stores. The company’s total U.S. store square footage was 778.3 million.
Walmart said it spent $20.6 billion in cap-ex in 2025, much of it for technology, as compared with $17.7 billion in 2024.
Also acknowledging “The Behemoth’s” dominance was technology research firm Numerator which confirmed that Walmart’s national share of market had increased to 21.2 percent. The Chicago-based research firm noted that Walmart has held the number one position for the past six years.
Other retailers in the top five include Kroger (8.9 percent share), Costco (8.5 percent), Albertsons (5 percent) and Publix (4.1 percent), for the quarter ending March 31.
More news out of Bentonville – just before presstime, Walmart released its Q1 FY ‘26 sales and earnings, which were once again strong (Total revenue was up 2.5 percent to $165.6 billion; net income was $7.1 billion, a gain of 4.3 percent; comp store revenue increased 4.5 percent – excluding gas; and e-commerce sales rose 21 percent and posted the first-ever profit). McMillon reaffirmed his economic concerns
about tariffs when on the post-earnings release conference call with financial analysts he said, “We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins. The higher tariffs will result in higher prices.” As I’ve written previously, have you checked your portfolio lately? Have you checked consumer confidence levels over the past two months? And to revisit a familiar 2024 campaign phrase: are you better off than you were three months ago?
‘Round The Trade
Kroger, still searching for a new CEO after former head honcho Rodney McMullen departed after an ethics faux pas, said that it spent $1.04 billion on legal fees related to its failed merger attempt with Albertsons, over the past three years. According to an SEC filing on April 1, the big Cincinnati chain spent $44 billion in 2022 (the year the merger agreement was announced), $316 million in 2023 and $684 million last year. And that number will rise significantly now that both parties are suing each other, and third-party potential buyer (of divested stores) C&S is also suing Kroger. Albertsons, too, is facing hefty legal bills. Its most recent SEC filing, in which merger-related costs were detailed, was last June when the Boise, ID-based chain said that it spent nearly $330 million on attorneys. That number will certainly top $500 million and, when all is said and done, could approach $1 billion. What a waste!
Two of the largest food industry trade associations – NGA and FMI – have loudly voiced their opposition to proposed federal legislation which could cut SNAP benefits by $230 billion over the next decade and transfer control and funding of food assistance programs to individual states.
“At the heart of the independent grocer across the nation is a simple but powerful belief that no American should go hungry. With this core value in mind, we are urging Congress to limit SNAP funding cuts during the reconciliation process. Independent grocers, particularly those in rural and underserved communities, are essential partners in delivering SNAP benefits. Cutting SNAP would harm the most vulnerable Americans and threaten the viability of community grocery stores that are depended upon by their local economies and neighborhoods,” said Stephanie Johnson, NGA’s group VP for government relations.”
FMI’s chief policy officer Jennifer Hatcher was equally as vocal. “Voters understand that SNAP is a hunger program, but there are a lot of details and facts about SNAP that voters do not understand or know about, and that’s where we come in,” Hatcher noted. “For instance, the average voter believes that a SNAP recipient receives more than three times what the actual benefit is – $6 per day – and there is clear opposition to significantly cutting or reducing SNAP benefits…to that end, FMI is dedicated to working with federal and state governments to keep SNAP strong and viable for the long-term.”
Fidji Simo, who was hired as CEO of Instacart in 2021, is leaving the large grocery delivery services firm to become chief executive of Open AI Applications, a huge piece of the parent company – Open AI – that was founded by another Silicon Valley heavyweight Sam Altman. Simo was a strong leader at Instacart, helping it become publicly traded in late 2021 and providing stability to the San Francisco-based organization. In fact, her departure was announced only a few days after Instacart posted some of its best earnings in recent years. Simo did not provide shareholders with an exact departure date and no interim CEO has been named, but the company implied that the next CEO will be picked from the ranks of existing Instacart executives.
Local Notes
Solid Q1 sales and earnings at rival retailers Weis Markets and Ahold Delhaize USA.
At Weis, net sales and other revenue totaled $1.20 billion for the 13-week first quarter ended March 29, compared to $1.18 billion for the same period in 2024, up 1.6 percent. The Sunbury, PA-based regional chain estimated its net sales, adjusted for the $14.0 million shift of the Easter holiday occurring in the first quarter in 2024 compared to the second quarter in 2025, were up 2.7 percent. Unadjusted first quarter comparable store sales excluding fuel increased 1.0 percent on an individual year-over-year basis and increased 4.3 percent on a two-year stacked basis. On the profit front, Weis’ first quarter net income totaled $20.48 million compared to $23.17 million in 2024, down 11.6 percent. First quarter earnings per share totaled $0.76 compared to $0.86 per share for the same period in 2024.
“Our first quarter 2025 results, adjusted for the year-over-year Easter holiday shift, are in line with our expectations despite the challenges of an uncertain macroeconomic environment,” said Weis chairman, president, and CEO Jonathan H. Weis. “During the quarter, our net sales benefited from significant regional weather events, continuing product price investments, and the increased tempo of our loyalty marketing rewards program. In addition, we continue to make strategic cost investments in our associates and technologies that improve efficiencies and enhance customer experience. We remain truly grateful to our associates for their efforts to provide excellent service to our customers.”
A week before the Q1 results were announced, the closely held publicly traded merchant held its annual shareholder’s meeting at its headquarters. Jonathan Weis recapped the meeting with this summary:
“In 2024, we completed work on 17 projects including six major remodels, nine minor remodels, and two fuel centers,” said the 57-year-old chief executive. “In 2025, we are building four new stores, our first since 2022, and expect to open three by the end of this year and the fourth early in 2026. Each store will be over 60,000 square feet with new features, expansive fresh departments, fuel centers, and sustainable technologies. Three are located in the Maryland communities of Lake Linganore, Charlotte Hall, and Waldorf while the fourth is in Middletown, DE.”
The financial results at ADUSA were slightly better. Overall net sales increased 1.8 percent to $15.8 billion and comp store revenue grew by 3.1 percent (ex-fuel). Those numbers were especially good considering the impact of more than 30 Stop & Shop stores closing last year. Online sales jumped 17.9 percent and as it’s been for several years, Food Lion and Hannaford continued to set the pace, posting their 50th and 15th consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales growth respectively.
Nick Bertram, former president of The Giant Company (2018-2023), has been named president and COO of Michaels, the Dallas, TX-based crafts retail chain where he will oversee stores, services, real estate and its Artistree customer framing division.
In a LinkedIn message, the youthful and energetic executive said joining Michaels “checks every box” for his goals after 20 years in the grocery industry – specialty retail that is omnichannel; household name that is multi-national; privately owned with growth-minded investors; and purpose led and people-centric. He said that he hadn’t planned on a relocation from his Central PA home to the Dallas area, but stated that he was excited about the move, sarcastically adding “I hear they love Eagles fans here.”
Taking over for Bertram as CEO of Flashfood, the digitally-driven firm that operates an app-based marketplace connecting shoppers with discounts on fresh produce and other groceries, Bertram will be Jordan Schenck, who joined Flashfood in 2023 and was promoted to president and COO last October. Bertram will remain on the company’s board.
C&S will close its Baldwin, FL distribution center in the Jacksonville area by the end of July. About 490 associates will be impacted. The move will not affect the company’s ability to supply its new retail partner, Southeastern Grocers, which is currently being primarily serviced from another Jacksonville area depot.
More C&S news: the privately-held Keene, NH-based wholesaler recently unveiled the rebranding of its private label brand Best Yet. An upgraded package design highlights the rebranding effort which includes thousands of products.
“As our retail customers look to provide shoppers with national quality products at affordable prices, The Best Yet portfolio of products more than delivers with its extensive assortment of eye-catching high quality and budget-friendly options. We’re proud to continue our legacy of braggingly happy customers with a quality brand that families can count on and retailers can trust to grow their businesses,” said C&S CEO Eric Winn.
FreshDirect, the Bronx, NY-based online perishables delivery merchant, said it will be re-entering the Philadelphia market, which it exited in 2022 to better focus on its core Metro NY region (it also pulled out of the Washington DC area at the same time). Now with a new UberEats partnership in hand, the company which Getir, the Turkish ultra-fast delivery service, acquired from Ahold Delhaize in early 2024, is seeking to expand once again. Good luck, although I wouldn’t rush to the $50 window at Philadelphia Park to cash a winning ticket.
In its seemingly never-ending attempt to thwart any threat of unionization, Amazon just lost another round. At “Godzilla’s” Whole Food unit, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that the retailer’s claim that an organization effort of a WFM store on Spring Garden Street in Philly was unfair to be without merit. As we’ve seen with successful organizational efforts at other Amazon-owned facilities, “Godzilla” is content to play “stallball” by constantly appealing decisions and not honoring legal rulings.
UFCW Local 1776 president Wendell Young IV summarized the situation succinctly: “The ruling is definitive – Whole Foods lost, the workers won, and it’s time for the company to respect the results. Amazon’s tired playbook or delay and obstruction has failed. We call on Whole Foods to stop wasting time and taxpayer resources with baseless legal challenges and sit down at the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract.” The store officially became unionized in January 2025.
Good news for our friends at JOH. The large Billerica, MA-based food broker recently acquired SIX60 Partners, the supplier-oriented consulting firm owned by former CPG executives, Tom Healy, Todd Fletcher and Frank Zampardi. “The partnership between JOH and SIX60 is another way to ensure our clients have access to a complete roadmap for long-term profitable success,” said John Saidnawey, executive chairman at JOH. With SIX60’s proven track record of building some of the biggest brands in the industry, we are now uniquely positioned to guide our clients through every phase of growth: early, middle and late stage. This acquisition allows us to offer a fully integrated suite of services that meets the evolving needs of the next generation of innovators.
