President Trump Tells Walmart: &quot;Eat the Tariffs&quot;

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Walmart has become the most recent instance of a large corporation facing significant political backlash amid an evolving trade landscape, after President Trump stated on social media that the retailer should “absorb the tariffs.”
Trump stated in a Saturday post on Truth Social that Walmart ought to cease attributing price increases across their stores to tariffs.
During Walmart's recent earnings call, CEO Doug McMillon stated that despite the reduction in tariffs, the company cannot fully offset the financial strain due to the tight profit margins characteristic of the retail industry.

Walmart is used to drawing notice because of its pricing. This past weekend, however, it grabbed not just the president’s attention but also their frustration.

This episode represented the most recent instance of a major corporation facing significant political backlash within an increasingly volatile trading landscape.

Walmart ( WMT ) CEO Doug McMillon last week during the company’s earnings conference call expressed gratitude to President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for the "progress" made in reducing tariffs following Trump’s Liberation Day "announcement. The news about a framework for trade discussions with China, alongside a scaling back The imposition of high tariffs mutually enforced by both nations has recently bolstered stock markets.

"We aim to maintain our prices at the lowest level feasible," McMillon stated during Thursday's conference call, with a transcript provided by AlphaSense. The company reported revenues exceeding $165 billion. first-quarter revenue But it still allowed for the chance that profits might fall this year based on the orientation of trade policy.

"Considering the extent of the tariffs, despite being lowered as announced earlier this week, we can't withstand all the strain because of the slim profit margins in retail," stated McMillon.

Trump Says on Truth Social that Walmart Should 'Eat the Tariffs'

Stop blaming tariffs for price hikes across their stores," Trump stated in a Saturday post on Truth Social. "Last year, Walmart raked in BILLIONS OF DOLLARS—far exceeding expectations. Both Walmart and China have enough resources to 'ABSORB THE TARIFFS' rather than passing costs onto loyal consumers. I'll be monitoring this closely, along with all of you!!!

In recent weeks, multiple firms have indicated that tariffs could cause them to raise the prices Customers make payments to keep their markets thriving. Although the Trump administration hasn't addressed all of these issues openly, it has criticized several major retail chains.

When reports surfaced indicating that Amazon.com ( AMZN ) could outline the impact of tariffs on prices on its website; however, members of the Trump administration referred to it as A "provocative and politically charged" action (The firm subsequently stated that the concept was limited to a relatively minor section of its operations and was never intended to be implemented.)

"We've consistently strived to maintain our prices at the lowest levels feasible, and this effort will not cease," said Joe Pennington, Walmart’s director of corporate affairs. In an email sent on Sunday, they stated, "Given the constraints of narrow profit margins in small-scale retail, we will maintain our pricing at the lowest possible levels for as long as feasible."