Walmart Warns of Slower Sales Growth
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Here's your midday brief for Thursday, February 20th. I'm Pierre Bien-Aimé for The Wall Street Journal. Walmart posted strong sales in the holiday quarter, meeting Wall Street's elevated expectations with nearly $181 billion in total revenue. But the discount retailer and country's biggest grocer set 2026 fiscal year revenue and profit targets below analysts' expectations. Walmart shares retreated about 6% in morning trading.

The company's strategy to keep prices low will be tested this year after the Trump administration imposed fresh tariffs on many goods that Walmart imports from China and pledged to add tariffs that would boost costs on goods from elsewhere.

Alibaba Group's artificial intelligence strategy helped drive third-quarter revenue growth to its quickest pace since late 2023. The Chinese e-commerce company weathered fierce domestic competition and a slowing Chinese economy, reporting a 7.6% rise in revenue to the equivalent of $38.5 billion.

And the Broccoli family's feud with Amazon MGM Studios over the James Bond franchise appears to have reached a resolution. Barbara Broccoli and her stepbrother Michael Wilson, who have long controlled the 007 franchise, said in a statement with Amazon MGM today that they reached an agreement to hand over Creative Control to a new joint venture with the studio.

Amazon will now decide who will play Bond, who will write the next script, and when the film goes into production. Three critical pieces that so far have been held up by years-long stalemate. We'll have more coverage of the day's news on the WSJ's What's News podcast. You can add it to your playlist on your smart speaker or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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