CTV Adds Lift to Walmart Connect’s Retail Media Momentum
Walmart is leaning even harder into retail media as a key profit driver, reporting another quarter of strong growth for its retail media arm, Walmart Connect — now further boosted by its Vizio acquisition.
On the company’s Q2 fiscal 2026 earnings call (Aug. 21), president and CEO Doug McMillon said advertising, membership and marketplace are “changing the shape” of Walmart’s income statement.
Global advertising revenue (including Vizio) grew 46% year over year. Walmart Connect in the U.S. grew 31% (excluding Vizio) in Q2, while Sam’s Club advertising was up 24% and international markets, led by Flipkart, climbed 15%.
“Fifty percent of our incremental profit, excluding claims, was related to advertising, membership and marketplace,” John David Rainey, chief financial officer, said on the call. “You can see why we’re excited about the momentum in the business. We said we’re going to play offense, and we see that we’re accelerating some of the share gains.”
Vizio Adds Boost Through CTV
Walmart’s December 2024 acquisition of Vizio is beginning to factor into advertising performance. Executives clarified that reported U.S. growth for Walmart Connect did not include Vizio, indicating that the connected TV (CTV) ad business represents an additional layer of growth on top of Walmart Connect’s existing momentum.
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Launched in 2002 as a TV manufacturer, Vizio today also operates a CTV advertising business via its SmartCast platform, delivering streaming content and targeted ads to millions of households. The integration strengthens Walmart Connect’s omnichannel offering by extending beyond in-store and digital media into TV advertising — positioning Walmart against players such as Amazon (Fire TV) and Roku.
Retail Media Cushions Cost Pressures
McMillon pointed out that the growth of higher-margin businesses such as retail media gives Walmart flexibility when managing tariff-related cost pressures and absorbing unusual expenses.
“The fact that we have businesses like advertising and membership growing obviously helps with flexibility as it relates to when we decide to absorb part of the tariff cost increase,” he said.
E-Commerce, Membership and Ad Synergies
Executives consistently tied retail media gains to Walmart’s e-commerce and membership growth. U.S. e-commerce sales grew 26%, and membership fee income rose 15% globally. Both Walmart+ and Sam’s Club posted strong increases.
Together, these newer businesses — e-commerce, retail media, membership — now account for a much larger share of Walmart’s profit engine than in prior years.
“We are more than just a standard brick-and-mortar retail business,” Rainey said. “We have a much more diversified set of profit streams now that are both higher growing as well as higher margin.”
Outlook: More Growth Ahead
Despite headwinds from liability expenses, Walmart raised its full-year sales guidance, citing confidence in e-commerce and advertising momentum heading into the holiday season. Executives reiterated that they see a “long runway” for growth in digital commerce and retail media — particularly as Vizio’s CTV capabilities become more tightly integrated with Walmart Connect.
See more highlights from Walmart's latest earnings call, including how AI, automation and digital-first tools are redefining Walmart's stores as engines of omnichannel growth.
