In the latter half of 2022, even as a spike in prices spurred a consumer exodus toward essentials, shares of big-box chains Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. were both moving along a similar path.

Between the pandemic upending shopping habits five years ago and the economy causing consumers to tighten their purse strings in 2025, it’s been a tumultuous half decade for retailers.

Rivals Target and Walmart have long been considered polar opposites. The biggest difference lately, though, is financial performance, underscored by the retailers' earnings reports this week.

In May, McMillon warned of tariff-driven price hikes for a wide range of goods that includes food, toys and electronics. Trump publicly criticized Walmart for saying it would hike prices, calling on the company to “eat the tariffs.”

We’re keeping our prices as low as we can for as long as we can,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in regard to the impact of tariffs.

Walmart said during its earnings call that it managed to avoid some of the price hikes it expected last quarter, but its costs continue to increase.

Walmart is reporting higher profits and sales as it pulls in shoppers seeking low prices for groceries and other essentials.

Sales at Walmart’s US stores rose nearly 5 percent in its most recent quarter, a better-than-expected result that suggests shoppers squeezed by inflation and wary of economic uncertainty continue to flock to the retailer for staples and other goods,

Walmart offered more than 7,400 discounts in its second quarter, including 30% more grocery discounts compared to last year.

Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s earnings reveal how tariffs are raising costs, reshaping pricing and pressuring profits in 2025.

Sales at Walmart’s US stores rose nearly 5 percent in its most recent quarter, a better-than-expected result that suggests shoppers squeezed by inflation and wary of economic uncertainty continue to flock to the retailer for staples and other goods,