NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - As Americans tightened their belts last year, and tariffs challenged retail profit margins, Walmart ( WMT ) reaped the rewards of some proactive business strategies.

Well-timed investments in technology and loyalty programs, combined with massive scale, allowed the U.S. retail giant to keep offering low prices on groceries and other everyday items while U.S. consumers were feeling the pinch from higher prices, and maintain its price gap against competitors even when tariffs forced some hikes over the last year.

Top-line sales at Walmart ( WMT ) grew 4.7% in the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, while Target's ( TGT ) fell 1.7%, Kroger ( KR ) stayed about flat, and Albertsons ( ACI ) grew sales about 3.5%.

"When the economy is hurting or people feel like their wallet is stretched, they go to Walmart ( WMT )," said Morningstar analyst Brett Husslein.

Investors have noticed. Shares in America's retailer of record, which reports quarterly earnings on Thursday, are up about 50% since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed suffocating tariffs in April 2025 - gains that far eclipse competitors.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Industry analysts polled by LSEG expect another strong quarter, with Walmart's ( WMT ) net sales expected to increase 5.5% year-on-year to $174.95 billion. But they also acknowledge that challenges lie ahead.

Ongoing pain among working-class shoppers could pressure sales, especially in the wake of Trump administration rollbacks on SNAP federal grocery aid for low-income families. And with Walmart ( WMT ) stock trading at 43 times forward earnings - way above rivals - expectations are high. Even a small hiccup in sales could send shares down.

Target ( TGT ) declined to comment ahead of its earnings call on Wednesday, while Kroger ( KR ) and Albertsons ( ACI ) did not respond to requests for comment.

Despite the tariff turmoil, Walmart ( WMT ) was able to keep its operating margin nearly flat at 4.2% last year versus the prior year.

That stems in part from scale. A typical Walmart ( WMT ) store can carry more than 100,000 products, per industry estimates, giving it size and breadth to extract friendly terms from suppliers and keep prices low.

It's also a result of newer, high-margin revenue streams that subsidize lower-margin areas. Walmart's ( WMT ) fast-growing advertising business, along with revenue from membership fees, combined for an estimated 27% of operating profits last fiscal year, up from 9% in 2021, according to Morningstar data.

Walmart's ( WMT ) e-commerce business has also exploded.

It laid the groundwork before the COVID pandemic, said RBC analyst Steven Shemesh, when hand-wringing about the death of brick-and-mortar retail spurred it to build out its e-commerce and curbside pickup businesses, gaining on Amazon ( AMZN ).

"Never waste a good crisis," said TD Cowen analyst Oliver Chen.

Online sales grew 24% last fiscal year, from about $121 billion to $150.4 billion. It represented 21.3% of total net sales, up from 17.9% a year ago.

Amazon ( AMZN ) grew its e-commerce business just 9% over the same period, though given Amazon's ( AMZN ) scale, that represented $22 billion in total dollars, to about $269 billion, according to its most recent annual report.

"Amazon's ( AMZN ) online store continues to see strong growth, particularly in grocery and everyday essentials," an Amazon ( AMZN ) spokesperson said.

Investments in automated delivery have put Walmart ( WMT ) ahead of Amazon ( AMZN ) for grocery sales, though, with its 4,600 U.S. stores serving as distribution centers that give it an edge in speed.

That's key for companies like Once Upon a Farm, which sells organic children's food that must be kept cold.

Co-founded by actress Jennifer Garner, the company sells at both Amazon ( AMZN ) and Walmart ( WMT ) - but the latter is more efficient, said CEO John Foraker. "(Amazon's ( AMZN )) cold chain distribution network is not anywhere near Walmart's ( WMT )."

The Amazon ( AMZN ) spokesperson said its perishables business is growing quickly, with fresh groceries now making up nine of the top 10 most-ordered items where they're available.

The company has also started offering 1-hour and 3-hour shipping in some markets.

Walmart ( WMT ) "faces a capital-intensive e-commerce arms race," said Morningstar's Husslein, "leaving no margin for error."