Is Walmart a Tech Stock? Its Planned Move to the Nasdaq 100 Is a Vote for ‘Yes’

Walmart is getting the recognition it’s been seeking for its e-commerce prowess.

The retail giant will move to the Nasdaq 100—an index tracking the 100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq —before the market opens on Jan. 20, the exchange operator said Friday. Walmart (WMT) has spent months highlighting its marketplace and delivery services, fueling speculation that it was eyeing the list seen as a tech-sector bellwether.

Walmart will replace pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (AZN). The move comes about a month after Walmart left the New York Stock Exchange for the Nasdaq, which is home to tech giants like  Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META).

The Nasdaq is a better fit for Walmart’s tech-centric approach, company executives have said. The retailer’s business no longer centers around a portfolio of big-box stores, they said, highlighting its booming delivery service, automated fulfillment centers and third-party marketplace.

“The results we’re delivering today are powered by our people and by technology,” CEO Douglas McMillon told investors on a November conference call, according to a transcript from AlphaSense.  “We continue to get better at putting our data to work, building more capable tech products, and platforms, and by deploying physical automation.”

McMillon highlighted the “digital acumen” of John Furner, head of Walmart U.S., when announcing in November that Furner will succeed him. Furner will lead the company through an “AI-driven transformation,” McMillon said.

Walmart is using AI to interact with consumers in new ways, including pinging customers on WhatsApp to ask if they want to stock up with a basket of frequently-ordered staples. It announced Sunday that it is working with Google to ensure people can easily find and purchase Walmart products when chatting in Gemini, Google’s AI-powered chat service. The company previously announced a similar arrangement with ChatGPT operator OpenAI. 

“The transition from traditional web or app search to agent-led commerce represents the next great evolution in retail,” Furner said Sunday in a statement. “We aren’t just watching the shift, we are driving it.”

Enthusiasm about Walmart’s digital growth has helped power its shares higher lately. The stock, up more than 3% in recent trading, has added roughly 30% of its value over the past 12 months and is sitting around record highs. Read Investopedia’s live coverage of today’s trading here.