Walmart Stock Now Trades on the Nasdaq. Its Tech Transformation Is Real.

Shoppers at a Walmart store in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• Walmart is transferring its shares to the Nasdaq Stock Market after over five decades on the New York Stock Exchange.
• Since the announcement, Walmart stock has gained about 7%, outperforming the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.
• Walmart became the second retailer globally to reach a $900 billion market capitalization, a threshold crossed by only 11 other U.S. companies.

Walmart has spent the better part of the past decade transforming itself into an e-commerce powerhouse. Today, its evolution seems complete, as the company completes the transfer of its shares to the Nasdaq Stock Market after more than five decades of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Walmart executives are scheduled to ring the Nasdaq’s opening bell later Tuesday. Shares were up 0.5% at 8:15 a.m. in premarket trading.

The company announced it would be making the switch during its November earnings report, with executives saying the move aligns with Walmart’s “tech-powered approach” to its long-term growth strategy.

“Nasdaq’s focus on technology and its support for companies driving digital transformation align perfectly with our strategic vision,” said CEO Doug McMillon in a statement. “This is an exciting next chapter as we continue building a frictionless future for our customers, members, associates, and shareholders.”

Enthusiasm over the Nasdaq move gave Walmart shares a boost. Since the announcement, Walmart stock has gained about 7% while the benchmark S&P 500 index has risen 1% and the Nasdaq Composite 2.2%. Last week, Walmart became the second retailer in the world to broach a $900 billion market cap. Only 11 other U.S. companies have crossed that threshold, including Amazon.com, Apple , Microsoft, Nvidia , and Tesla.

Importantly, the decision positions Walmart for inclusion in the Nasdaq 100, a move that he said could attract more passive inflows from index-tracking funds, wrote Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe when the move was first announced.

Nancy Tengler, CEO and chief investment officer at Laffer Tengler Investments, said the listing change was “music to [her] ears.”

“WMT has been the poster child of our investing theme: old economy companies pivoting to the new technologies (and the supplier of the picks and shovels),” she wrote in emailed comments to Barron’s last week. “WMT has embraced digitization, robotics, cloud and AI to improve growth, margins, delivery times and the customer experience.”

Walmart’s metamorphosis from industry laggard to tech titan has been a long time in the making. Under McMillon, the company has been steadily investing in integrating technology up and down its business, from modernizing its supply chain and remodeling stores, to operating a successful loyalty program, Walmart+, and a burgeoning digital advertising business that have helped margins grow.

McMillon is stepping down in February and will be succeeded by Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner. It falls to Furner to lay the groundwork for Walmart’s next stage of growth, which investors say will rely heavily on adoption of artificial intelligence.

Write to Sabrina Escobar at sabrina.escobar@barrons.com