🚀 Walmart with strong holiday numbers

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Market Overview
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Year To Date Performances:

1. Walmart’s first earnings report under new CEO John Furner reveals a retail giant successfully pivoting toward a high-income digital future even as it faces a cooling broader economy. While the company exceeded fourth-quarter expectations with a record $190.66 billion in revenue—driven by a massive 27% surge in U.S. e-commerce—its stock slipped after issuing a conservative annual profit forecast that missed Wall Street targets. The results highlight a growing "K-shaped" consumer divide, where nearly all of Walmart's fashion growth and market share gains are being propelled by households earning over $100,000, while lower-income shoppers show signs of financial strain. Despite the transition of the revenue crown to Amazon for the first time, Walmart is aggressively defending its turf through a new $30 billion buyback program and a shift toward high-margin advertising and third-party marketplace services to offset the normalization of post-tariff inflation.

2. While the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule on the legality of President Trump’s sweeping "reciprocal tariffs," the domestic furniture industry remains trapped in an existential vice that no judicial decision is likely to loosen. Small independent retailers are bearing the brunt of a 25% Section 232 duty on upholstered goods and cabinetry, policies distinct from the court case, which have already accelerated a wave of bankruptcies, including the liquidation of nearly 90 American Signature and Value City Furniture stores. This "tariff trap" has created a stark industry divide: while larger titans like Wayfair and Williams-Sonoma use their massive scale to absorb costs and capture market share, smaller family-owned businesses are being forced into 18% price hikes that alienate customers already sidelined by high interest rates and a stagnant housing market. Even a legal victory against reciprocal duties would offer little relief from the industry-specific wood tariffs currently slated to remain in effect through 2027, leaving the sector’s "independent space" in a state of terminal uncertainty.

3. United Airlines is launching a massive overhaul of its MileagePlus program effective April 2, 2026, marking a strategic pivot that aggressively prioritizes credit card holders over casual flyers. In the most significant shake-up in over a decade, the carrier is slashing base earning rates for non-cardholders while simultaneously dangling 10% to 15% redemption discounts and exclusive seat inventory for those who carry United-branded plastic. The new "top of wallet" strategy effectively penalizes infrequent travellers, particularly those booking basic economy fares who will no longer earn any miles unless they hold elite status or an airline credit card. By creating a widening gap in rewards, where a premier member with a card can earn more than five times the miles of a standard traveller per dollar spent, United is following industry rivals in transforming its loyalty program into a closed ecosystem designed to lock customers into its high-margin financial products.

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