Walmart’s troubles should have everyone on high alert

Walmart Flashes a Warning Sign to the Entire Consumer Economy — Andrea Felsted Walmart Inc. just highlighted the dark side of inflation. The [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( [Walmart Flashes a Warning Sign to the Entire Consumer Economy]( — Andrea Felsted Walmart Inc. just highlighted the dark side of inflation. The world’s biggest retailer on Tuesday reported profit that fell short of Wall Street expectations and downgraded its outlook for full-year earnings per share from a mid-single-digit increase to a 1% decline. Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said the bottom-line results were “unexpected” and reflected the “unusual” environment. Walmart shares tumbled more than 11% on Tuesday, the most in 35 years. The results are unusual because Walmart has been famously cost-conscious. Its frugal philosophy is a big part of why it’s able to charge low prices. If Walmart is struggling even with its thriftiness and superior scale, then smaller and less efficient retailers are in for a very difficult time — not least because there was another note of caution in Walmart’s first-quarter announcement. Read the [whole thing](. [Omicron Is Turning Out to Be a Weak Vaccine]( — Lisa Jarvis [Elon Musk Does Not Care About Spam Bots]( — Matt Levine [McDonald’s Exit From Russia Ends a Hopeful Era]( — Therese Raphael [It’s a Good Time to Think About Stagflation Havens]( — John Authers [Why Harvard Professors Are Seeing Crimson Over Student Paper]( — Stephen L. Carter [Ukraine’s Allies Are Blundering Their Handling of Putin]( — Zev Chafets [Welcome to Our Be-Careful-What-You-Wish-For Economy]( — Conor Sen [The Needless Covid Rule That’s Holding Back Travel]( — Tyler Cowen [There’s One Way to Wean India Off Russian Weapons]( — Mihir Sharma This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion published this week based on web readership. Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022