The Huddle with John Furner

There is so much to reflect on and be thankful for this year. A really special moment for John Furner was recording this Huddle episode with Marc Brock, who recently celebrated 14 years with the company and was promoted to Store Manager of 1560 in Las Vegas, NV! The first thing Marc did was appreciate his team and call his mother, Dorothy. It was such a great reminder of what really matters. All of us have family members, loved ones and friends who helped us become the people we are today. Marc is such a great example of being an engaged and positive leader - and we know many of our associates will look to him as proof that hard work, determination and passion can lead to amazing opportunities at Walmart. We’re so proud of all we’ve accomplished this year, and hope everyone gets the chance to enjoy the holidays with your loved ones. You deserve it! And make sure you watch until the very end of the full episode to see our surprise for Dorothy!

Veterans Day is a really important day for our country, and it’s a special day at Walmart. Our founder, Sam Walton, was an Army veteran - and so many of our associates have served. Since 2013, we’ve hired more than 400,000 veterans and military spouses to join our team, like Rhonda Jeter and Glenn Garay. Rhonda served in the Air Force for 10 years, is a loyal Walmart associate and was recently promoted to Store Manager at Store 399 in Longview, TX! Glenn is a first-generation American from Colombia, served 24 years in the Air Force and joined Walmart just two months ago as the first fellow hired in Global Tech through the Hiring our Heroes fellowship. They both have incredible stories and joined The Huddle with John Furner to talk about what serving our country has meant to them and the opportunities at Walmart for veterans.

We shared our Q2 business results earlier this week, and what a quarter! Walmart U.S. saw 5.2% comp sales growth, and our CFO Chris Nicholas joined The Huddle with John Furner to talk about the momentum we’re seeing. Chris’ first retail job was in England at 14 years old pricing products, zoning shelves and working in the backroom. He’s since worked retail in nine different countries and knows no matter where you are, being curious helps you best serve customers. It’s up to us to stay curious - always innovating and looking for ways to improve our business. Thank you for a strong quarter, and let’s keep it up!

When John Furner first talked with Mayor Frank Scott, Jr., a few months ago, he shared a quote that really made an impact on him. “Never let nostalgia become the enemy of vision.” Change is constant - and it’s something we’ve all felt in many ways over the last year and a half. In order to continue innovating and moving forward, we have to be ready and willing to unite, grow and transform. Mayor Scott is the first Black mayor elected by popular vote in Little Rock, Arkansas, and he often talks about the importance of transformation to achieve our best selves. Our associates across the U.S. prove this time and time again while protecting one another and serving our customers. Listen to this new episode of The Huddle to hear why John is proud of the work we’ve done and grateful to learn from inspirational leaders like Mayor Scott.

Every quarter, we get the opportunity to share our earnings results. I’m really proud we’ve seen historically unprecedented growth since this decade began – from our sales comps to our eCommerce business to operating income.

As we think about earnings, it's important to me we not only share the results but also help people understand what “earnings” means. That’s why I am so excited for our newest episode of the Huddle, where I’m joined by our CFO, John David Rainey. If you’ve ever wondered why we do earnings, how it affects the day-to-day lives of our associates and customers, or how to put the numbers into a big picture perspective – you’re going to love this one! John David has incredible experience and knowledge, and he does such a great job sharing how to make sense of it all. I hope you’ll listen, learn, and feel as enthusiastic about the future as we do!