American retailer Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is rejigging its top-tier executives ahead of its second quarter Fiscal 2024 results due August 17. The shuffle comes as Walmart’s long-term veteran, Judith McKenna, announced plans to retire effective September 11, 2023. McKenna is the president and CEO of Walmart’s International business and was considered a probable successor to CEO Doug McMillon.
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McKenna will continue to support Walmart through the end of its Fiscal year ending January 2024 to ensure a smooth transition. She will also continue serving on the boards of Walmex, Flipkart, and PhonePe until January 31.
Walmart Shuffles Other Roles
McKenna’s role will be taken over by Kathryn McLay, who currently heads Walmart’s membership-only chain, Sam’s Club. In the meantime, McLay’s position will be filled by Chris Nicholas, who is the current chief operating officer of Walmart U.S.
The reason for McKenna’s departure is unknown. She joined Walmart in 1996, and during her tenure, she undertook various leadership roles. During her nearly 30-year stint at the company, she has seen Walmart grow from a local retailer to a global multi-billion-dollar big-box retailer. When she was the COO of Walmart, McKenna was instrumental in boosting the retailer’s e-commerce platform, strengthening the digital transformation, and leading the online grocery pickup business.
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Is Walmart Stock a Buy or a Sell?
Walmart is slated to release its Q2FY24 print today, before the bell. Despite the headwinds, analysts remain optimistic about a beat-and-raise performance.
On TipRanks, Walmart stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating. This is based on 24 Buys and four Hold ratings. The average Walmart price forecast of $174.07 implies 9.3% upside potential from current levels.
Moreover, investors looking for the most profitable analyst for WMT could follow Robert Drbul of Guggenheim. Copying his trades on this stock and holding each position for one year could result in 69% of your transactions generating a profit, with an average return of 18.78% per trade.
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