Walmart said higher petrol prices were leading stressed consumers to ration purchases at the pump and warned of inflation in its store aisles as the retail behemoth confronts a rise in energy costs caused by the war in Iran.
Customers visiting Walmart’s US petrol stations are buying less than 10 gallons per visit for the first time since 2022, when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine had driven up oil prices. “That’s an indication of stress,” said John David Rainey, chief financial officer, on a call discussing quarterly results with analysts on Thursday.
The largest US retailer’s vast trucking fleet was not left unscathed, as higher fuel costs shaved 2.5 percentage points off the company’s operating profit growth in the three months to the end of April. The resulting rise of 5 per cent left operating income at $7.5bn, falling short of analyst estimates.