Value and convenience winning but not everywhere

We'll start with the earnings calls. 

From Walmart:

"Transaction counts and unit volumes were positive across each segment, and we continue to gain market share in the US, both in grocery and general merchandise. Households earning more than $100,000 made up 75% of our share gains. In the US, in-store volumes grew, curbside pickup grew faster and delivery sales grew even faster than that."

"We had almost no like-for-like inflation in the US this quarter. It was nice to see general merchandise grow low single digits in the US even as prices are deflated by over 4%. We currently have about 6,000 rollbacks in Walmart US across all categories. We're feeling some margin pressure from growth in GLP-1 drugs, so we're pleased to see general merchandise sales be positive."

"Food categories were especially strong this quarter with unit volumes growing by the highest level in four years. We also generated mid-teens growth in health and wellness due largely to branded pharmacy scripts, including GLP-1. GLP-1 sales contributed about one point to the segment comp, while continuing to create mix pressures in gross profit." The general merchandise strength came mostly from home, hardline and toys.

They also got help in the hurricane impacted areas of people stocking up beforehand but also higher expenses.

"Across the company, inventory is in very good shape."

The secret to the Walmart success, "with customers and members continuing to respond to our value proposition as we provide lower prices and greater levels of convenience."