Walmart (NYSE: WMT) presented at the Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference on September 15, with U.S. president and CEO Dave Guggina participating in meetings and a fireside chat at 11:35 a.m. CT.

The following day, Manish Joneja, senior vice president of Walmart U.S. marketplace and WFS, appeared at the Piper Sandler Growth Frontiers Conference at 11:00 a.m. CT.

The back-to-back appearances came at a pivotal moment for the retail giant, as the company continues to outpace traditional retail competitors across multiple business lines.

Walmart shares closed on September 11 at $107.15, up 1.3% for the session, reflecting sustained investor confidence in the company’s growth trajectory.

Global e-commerce sales surged 23%, even as Walmart U.S. comparable sales posted a more modest increase of 2.6% during the same reporting period.

Fiscal second-quarter revenue climbed 5.9%, while operating income jumped 28.8%, with adjusted constant-currency operating income growing 17.4% on a year-over-year basis.

The company’s August 20 earnings release highlighted 38% advertising growth and 17% growth in global membership-fee revenue, underscoring momentum in its higher-margin business segments.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales increased 24%, while store-fulfilled delivery sales grew approximately 43%, reflecting deepening consumer adoption of its digital retail model.

Expedited deliveries completed in under three hours accounted for roughly 37% of store-fulfilled orders, and average weekly customers increased more than 20% during the quarter.

Fast delivery across the United States rose 48%, with sub-30-minute delivery expanding to 38 U.S. markets, a milestone that positions Walmart as a formidable competitor to pure-play delivery platforms.

Walmart’s extensive store network serves as a last-mile fulfillment infrastructure for 80% of e-commerce orders and 100% of fast deliveries, a structural advantage difficult for rivals to replicate.

The company noted that customers using fast delivery shop more frequently, deepen their engagement with the platform, and are more likely to convert into Walmart+ members.

Walmart is also scaling its Sparky AI shopping assistant, which is linked to customers spending 40% more per order, signaling the early commercial impact of its artificial intelligence investments.

At the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference 2026, Walmart outlined broader ambitions for its advertising arm, Walmart Connect, aiming to compete for budgets across connected TV, social media, and shopping apps.

The ad business carries margins above 70%, a stark contrast to the roughly 5% margin in core retail, making it a critical driver of overall profitability improvement for the company.

Walmart’s recent collaboration with Dunkin’ is set to launch first across 150 in-store tenant locations, with plans to expand to the majority of Dunkin’s 10,000 locations outside Walmart stores nationwide.

The Dunkin’ partnership extends the range of delivery occasions available to Walmart customers, further embedding the retailer into everyday consumer spending habits.

Taken together, Walmart’s conference appearances painted a picture of a retailer aggressively transforming itself from a traditional brick-and-mortar operator into a diversified, technology-driven commerce and media platform.