Walmart's AI Leap: Boosts Shares Despite Cautious Forecast, Eyes Global Expansion

• Walmart emphasizes significant AI integration plans, boosting shares despite a cautious forecast for Q1 earnings and slower annual revenue growth.
• The retail giant achieved a $1 trillion market value, a rare feat for a brick-and-mortar company, joining only three other non-tech firms.
• CEO John Furner highlights AI's role in enhancing customer solutions, simplifying decisions, and optimizing inventory, citing trust with consumers.
• Walmart's AI assistant, Sparky, has increased order volumes by 35% and exemplifies "agentic commerce," a trend where AI handles sophisticated tasks.
• The company is expanding its advertising and e-commerce, including the Amazon-like "Marketplace," and overhauling leadership for global tech-oriented growth.