Retail giant Walmart held its annual shareholders meeting this week, during which the company’s CFO, John David Rainey, discussed plans to prepare for a potential recession. Rainey said the company considers a range of possibilities when planning including the economic environment, and works to maximise revenue and profits, while keeping a close eye on the balance sheet and ensuring that the firm has access to capital at the lowest possible cost. CEO Doug McMillon also discussed the firm’s customer-centric strategy involving AI and technology, with a particular emphasis on chatGPT, which provides customers with a dedicated shopping assistant. Additionally, the firm is working to cut prices in response to changing customer spending habits, but remains confident that it is positioned to succeed regardless of the environment.
Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, with annual sales of over $611bn and over 2.1 million employees, known as associates. It has a presence in 27 countries worldwide.
CFO John David Rainey and CEO Doug McMillon both addressed shareholders at Walmart’s annual meeting this week. Rainey discussed the firm’s plans to prepare for a recession, while McMillon talked about the company’s technological advances, including AI and the chatGPT platform. He also addressed the firm’s pricing strategy and expressed confidence in Walmart’s ability to succeed irrespective of the economic environment.
