#walmart

#walmart

Walmart's slogan may be "Save Money, Live Better," but as a series of social media posts have revealed, the corporation has been overcharging shoppers for meat via rampant mislabelling. Customers have discovered that the weights listed on some of Walmart's meat packages are incorrect, and these weight discrepancies could indicate fraudulent overpricing and deceptive tactics to get customers to pay more for less food.

Walmart ( NYSE:WMT) generated $681 billion in revenue during fiscal 2025, translating to $1.87 billion per day. But here's the metric that matters more than that staggering topline number: Walmart's operating margin. Operating margin, operating income divided by revenue, tells you how much profit Walmart extracts from each dollar of sales after paying for inventory and running 4,600+ stores. In fiscal 2025, Walmart posted a 4.3% operating margin on $681 billion in revenue. That's $29.3 billion in operating income.

Assuming these employees work a standard 40 hours per week, they could earn more than $87,000 per year. That's nearly 34% more than what the average American earns, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Pharmacy associates also get access to Walmart's benefits including medical coverage, 401(k) plans with a 6% company match, paid time off (including parental leave), and an associate discount.

The CEO added he would even offer to step in for his boss in meetings-whether or not he was prepared to answer all of the questions that came up. Plus, instead of brushing off queries above his pay grade and waiting for his manager's return, he would proactively respond: "I don't know, but I'll find out fast and get back to you." "I then put myself in an environment where I became a low-risk promotion because people had already seen me do the job," McMillon concluded.

John Mackey, who cofounded Whole Foods in 1980, told podcast host David Senra in an episode released last week that Walmart's move into groceries in the late '80s helped the grocery chain find awider audience. In its early years, Whole Foods served a niche market of health-conscious shoppers. Its clientele was mostly "a bunch of hippies selling food to other hippies," Mackey said, describing one venture capitalist's summation of the store.

Customers reported finding the razor blades at a Walmart Supercenter and a Walmart Neighborhood Market, said Lt. Candace Young, a public information officer for the Biloxi Police Department. Walmart employees told police a customer first reported finding a razor blade in a loaf purchased from the Walmart Supercenter on Dec. 5. On Dec. 8, a customer who bought a loaf at the Walmart Neighborhood Market also reported finding a razor blade.

Shoppable in-store and online for just $16.78, this scalloped woven storage tray is a total steal - I've seen similar ones for at least three times the price, if not for more. And Walmart didn't skimp on quality, either. This piece is made from natural-toned water hyacinth fibers and finished with an adorable scalloped edge that truly takes the design from basic to the next level.

Grocers have rebranded and grown their portfolio of private label brands over the past several years to cater to consumers pressed by inflation, and it's paid off as the highest-earning shoppers make up an increasingly large share of the economy. Nowhere is this more true than Walmart, the leading grocer since 2019, which launched a new private label called Bettergoods in 2024 that includes products that are plant-based, organic, or gluten-free.

Did you know that Walmart basically has its own Amazon Prime-esque membership plan? It's called Walmart+, and it's a great option for people who shop at Walmart often. It'll give you free grocery delivery, free shipping with no order minimum, savings on fuel, early access to promotions and events, and, right now, free streaming on your choice of Peacock Premium or Paramount+ Essential.

But Walmart isn't defying shaky consumer confidence because of the breadth of its offerings, which impressively stretches to 120,000 products at most stores. Customers aren't flocking into stores to buy made-in-America T-shirts, as I wrote about in May, thanks to a novel partnership with American Giant. Or because it is adding more high-end products (at lower prices than you'd find anywhere else), as I covered in October in this profile of its chief merchant Latriece Watkins.

These days, I only take long trips that require packing a suitcase about once a year. Because of that, I don't spend much time looking at the luggage in my house, and when the time comes once again to lug them out and pack them up, it dawns on me. Oh, right: My suitcases are all pretty old. And aside from one teal-hued hard-shell roller, they're all plain black.

Driving the news: Walmart said Friday that McMillon, CEO since 2014, would step aside early next year in favor of long-time lieutenant John Furner. The Financial Times reported late Friday night that Apple's board is accelerating plans to replace Cook, CEO since 2011, as early as next year. Disney is working toward replacing Iger as CEO (again) early next year, and he's been more vocal about the coming change in recent days, discussing his impending exit on a British podcast.