{"id":66792,"date":"2026-08-20T07:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T11:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/walmart-beats-earnings-estimates-as-meta-deepens-ai-partnership-with-microsoft\/66792\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T07:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T11:38:17","slug":"walmart-beats-earnings-estimates-as-meta-deepens-ai-partnership-with-microsoft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/walmart-beats-earnings-estimates-as-meta-deepens-ai-partnership-with-microsoft\/66792\/","title":{"rendered":"Walmart Beats Earnings Estimates as Meta Deepens AI Partnership with Microsoft"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Walmart (<a href=\"\/stock\/WMT\">WMT<\/a>)<\/strong> reported a strong Q2 2026 with <strong>Adjusted EPS of $0.81<\/strong>, beating the <strong>$0.74<\/strong> estimate, and raised its full-year earnings guidance to <strong>$2.80\u2013$2.87<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>)<\/strong> has quietly emerged as one of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a>&#39;s (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>)<\/strong> largest AI customers, reportedly spending <strong>hundreds of millions of dollars<\/strong> annually on Azure cloud services.<\/li>\n<li><strong>CrowdStrike (<a href=\"\/stock\/CRWD\">CRWD<\/a>)<\/strong> Global CTO Elia Zaitsev is departing to launch <strong>Cognition<\/strong>, a new <strong>$170 million<\/strong> venture fund focused on AI-driven cybersecurity.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>European Commission<\/strong> confirmed EU gas storage is at <strong>62% capacity<\/strong>, stating there is <strong>no immediate concern<\/strong> for winter supply despite geopolitical volatility.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Qatar<\/strong> is intensifying mediation efforts between the <strong>U.S. and Iran<\/strong>, focusing on a diplomatic solution to reopen the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Retail and Corporate Earnings<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Walmart (<a href=\"\/stock\/WMT\">WMT<\/a>)<\/strong> delivered a robust second-quarter performance for fiscal 2026, posting revenue of <strong>$187.94 billion<\/strong>, which exceeded analyst expectations of <strong>$186.87 billion<\/strong>. While U.S. comparable store sales (excluding gas) grew <strong>2.6%<\/strong>, slightly trailing the <strong>3.67%<\/strong> estimate, the company\u2019s profitability remained strong with an <strong>Adjusted EPS of $0.81<\/strong>. <em>Management expressed confidence in the consumer landscape by raising the full-year Adjusted EPS outlook to a range of $2.80 to $2.87, up from the previous $2.75 to $2.85.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Big Tech and Artificial Intelligence<\/h2>\n<p>In a significant shift in the competitive landscape, <strong>Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>)<\/strong> has become a premier customer for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>)<\/strong> Azure. Reports indicate that Meta is utilizing <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a>\u2019s infrastructure to scale its AI models, highlighting a deepening reliance between the two tech giants despite their competing AI ambitions. This partnership underscores the <em>massive capital requirements of the AI era<\/em>, as Meta\u2019s annual spending on these services has reportedly reached the mid-hundreds of millions.<\/p>\n<p>In the cybersecurity sector, <strong>CrowdStrike (<a href=\"\/stock\/CRWD\">CRWD<\/a>)<\/strong> announced that its Chief Technology Officer, Elia Zaitsev, will leave the company. Zaitsev plans to launch <strong>Cognition<\/strong>, a venture capital firm targeting <strong>$170 million<\/strong> to invest in early-stage AI-cybersecurity startups. <em>Market reaction was cautious, with CrowdStrike shares trading lower in <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/movers\/premarket\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Premarket Movers\">pre-market<\/a> sessions following the news of the high-profile departure.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Energy and Global Macroeconomics<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>European Commission<\/strong> provided a reassuring update on energy security, noting that EU gas storage facilities are currently <strong>62% full<\/strong>. While this level is lower than the <strong>74%<\/strong> recorded during the same period last year, officials stated there is <strong>no immediate threat<\/strong> to the bloc&#39;s supply. The lower storage levels are attributed to higher global prices and ongoing regional tensions, but the Commission maintains that the EU is on track for the winter season.<\/p>\n<p>On the diplomatic front, <strong>Qatar<\/strong> continues to serve as a critical intermediary between the <strong>United States<\/strong> and <strong>Iran<\/strong>. Qatari officials emphasized that their current focus is on securing a ceasefire and ensuring the <strong>freedom of navigation<\/strong> in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>. <em>Oil markets remain sensitive to these negotiations, as a successful deal could significantly ease global supply constraints.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Economic Indicators and Crypto<\/h2>\n<p>Canada&#39;s <strong>CFIB Business Barometer<\/strong> for August came in at <strong>57.8<\/strong>, a slight decrease from the previous month&#39;s <strong>58.3<\/strong>. The data suggests that while small business sentiment remains in positive territory (above 50), <em>uncertainty regarding trade and domestic demand continues to temper long-term optimism.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the digital asset space, <strong>Ethereum (<a href=\"\/stock\/ETH\">ETH<\/a>)<\/strong> saw a notable price surge following a significant &quot;whale&quot; transaction. On-chain data revealed a new wallet deposited <strong>$20 million USDC<\/strong> to open a <strong>4x long position<\/strong> on 20,000 ETH. The trader is currently holding an unrealized profit of approximately <strong>$6.66 million<\/strong>, as the asset responded positively to the large-scale accumulation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Walmart (WMT) reported a strong Q2 2026 with Adjusted EPS of $0.81, beating the $0.74 estimate, and raised [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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