Walmart Flags Q3 Sales Headwind After Flipkart Big Billion Days Timing Shift

In the second quarter, Walmart, which follows the February-January fiscal calendar, said India remained a key growth driver for Walmart's International Business during the reported quarter.

New Delhi, August 21, 2026: US-based retail giant Walmart has said the timing shift of the 'Big Billion Days' sales event of its Indian e-commerce arm Flipkart in FY27 will create a headwind in the third quarter, while it will provide a corresponding boost in the fourth quarter.Walmart said it expects a headwind of more than 100 basis points to third-quarter sales growth due to the shift in timing of Flipkart's Big Billion Days event between the third and fourth quarters."For Q3 sales guidance, we expect a headwind of over 100bps to growth related to a timing shift of Flipkart's Big Billion Days between Q3 and Q4," said the Bentonville, Arkansas-headquartered retail giant in its earnings statement for the second quarter.Big Billion Days Timing ShiftThough Flipkart has yet to officially announce the date for its "Big Billion Days 2026" on its homepage, according to some reports, it is expected to start on September 23, 2026, with early access for Plus members on September 22, 2026, and is likely to run through October 2, 2026.Last year, in November 2025, Walmart had said the timing of the 'Big Billion Days' sales event of Flipkart "benefited sales growth" of its international business in its third quarter of FY26.In the Q2 FY27 earnings call, Walmart Inc Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said the timing of Flipkart's Big Billion Days will "impact the cadence of Q3 and Q4 sales" growth."This year, we expect a Q3 headwind of over 100 basis points in sales growth as we lap last year's event. We expect that Q4 sales growth will benefit by a similar amount for this year's event. Overall, for the enterprise, we expect sales growth in Q3 to be between 3 per cent and 3.75 per cent," he said.India Remains Key Growth DriverIn the second quarter, Walmart, which follows the February-January fiscal calendar, said India remained a key growth driver for Walmart's International Business during the reported quarter.Walmart's International business, which operates in 18 countries outside the US, has reported a double-digit growth of 7.9 per cent to USD 33.7 billion, in the second quarter of FY27.Walmart President and Chief Executive Officer John Furner said "International was up 7.9 per cent, led by China and India"."The mix of eCommerce for Walmart International is now 30 per cent, with strong growth again this quarter in China, India, and Canada," Furner said.Flipkart Ads Boost Advertising BusinessThe retailer also reported robust growth in its advertising business, with Flipkart Ads emerging as a major contributor.Walmart said its advertising business grew 20 per cent during the quarter, led by Flipkart Ads. Global advertising revenue increased 38 per cent, driven by strong growth from Walmart Connect in the US and Flipkart Ads.The company further said e-commerce growth in its international segment rose 19 per cent, led by China, India and Canada.Also Watch: Flipkart May Defer IPO As Walmart Instructs To Focus On Ebitda-Breakeven By FY27Walmart Holds Majority Flipkart StakeWalmart owns a majority stake in Indian e-commerce marketplace Flipkart, which hosts the annual Big Billion Days sale, one of the country's largest festive season shopping events.It acquired a 77 per cent controlling stake in Flipkart in 2018, in a USD 16 billion deal.Since then, it has increased its stake and now owns over an 80 per cent stake in the Bengaluru-headquartered e-commerce major.(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)