Walmart stock fell sharply after the retail giant reported its latest earnings. Shares dropped around 9%, falling from $114.30 to $103.84. Walmart also saw its stock fall for the fourth straight earnings day.
The fall came despite Walmart delivering better-than-expected results and raising its full-year guidance. The results showed that the company continues to perform strongly, but investors appeared concerned about its outlook, sending the stock lower.
Walmart Tap to Pay
Walmart is now making a major change to how customers can pay at its stores.The company said it will begin accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay at Walmart and Sam’s Club locations. Walmart announced the change on August 21, 2026. TechCrunch reported that the move marks a major shift for Walmart, which has avoided these popular tap-to-pay services for years. The new payment option will allow customers to use their phones or other supported devices to make contactless payments at checkout.
Tap to Pay rollout starts August 24
Walmart said Tap to Pay will begin rolling out on August 24. The feature will first be available at select Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations. Walmart plans to expand the service across all of its stores and clubs by the end of 2026. The company will then take the service to its fuel stations.
Walmart expects Tap to Pay to reach all of its fuel stations by the middle of 2027. This means the new payment system will not be available everywhere immediately, but Walmart plans a wider rollout over the coming months.
Walmart had avoided Apple Pay for years
The decision is notable because Walmart has traditionally refused to accept Apple Pay. Instead, the company pushed customers toward its own payment tools. These included Walmart Pay and Scan-and-Go.
Walmart wanted customers to use its own digital payment and shopping systems rather than relying on outside services such as Apple Pay. The company’s latest decision shows a major change in that strategy.
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Walmart once tried to build an alternative to Apple Pay
Walmart’s resistance to Apple Pay goes back several years. The company once joined other major retailers in an effort to create an alternative mobile payment system. The system was called CurrentC. The idea was to create a payment platform that could compete with services such as Apple Pay. However, the effort failed. CurrentC was eventually shut down in 2016, according to the information provided by TechCrunch. Walmart later continued to promote its own payment options instead of adopting Apple Pay.
Customers had been asking for tap-to-pay
Walmart customers have repeatedly wanted the retailer to support modern contactless payment services. Apple Pay has become widely used across the US, making Walmart’s decision not to accept it increasingly unusual.
Apple says Apple Pay is now accepted at 85% of retailers across the US. That includes many of the country’s biggest stores. Walmart’s decision to add Apple Pay and Google Pay therefore brings the retailer more in line with how many other major US retailers already allow customers to pay.
The move is a big change for Walmart’s payment strategy
For Walmart, adding Apple Pay and Google Pay represents a major shift in its approach to payments. The company had previously believed it could encourage shoppers to use its own payment services. But the growing popularity of contactless payments made that strategy harder to maintain.
By adding Tap to Pay, Walmart is giving shoppers another way to pay instead of forcing them to use Walmart’s own systems. The move could also make checkout easier for customers who already use Apple Pay or Google Pay at other stores.
Walmart says the goal is to give customers more choice
Walmart is presenting the new payment option as a way to give shoppers more flexibility. The company said Tap to Pay will be added alongside existing payment methods. These already include cash, credit cards and Walmart Pay.
Walmart said giving customers and members more choice at checkout is part of a broader effort to make managing and using their money easier. The company’s message is that Tap to Pay is not replacing Walmart Pay or other existing options. Instead, it is being added as another choice.
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What the Walmart stock fall means
Walmart’s stock drop and its new payment announcement come at an important time for the company. The earnings report showed that Walmart was able to beat estimates and raise its full-year outlook. However, the 9% stock decline on August 20 shows that investors were not satisfied with the overall outlook despite those positive results.
At the same time, Walmart is changing its approach to payments by finally accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay. The company now has to balance its own digital payment products with the growing demand for widely used services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The bigger picture for Walmart
Walmart is still pushing its own digital tools, but the addition of Tap to Pay shows that the company is becoming more open to outside payment services. The rollout will start at selected locations on August 24, expand to all Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs by the end of 2026, and reach Walmart fuel stations by mid-2027.
For customers, the biggest change is simple: they will finally be able to use popular tap-to-pay services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay at Walmart. For investors, however, the bigger story remains Walmart’s earnings performance and the reasons behind the stock’s sharp fall.