Why Is Walmart (WMT) Stock Rising Today? Google AI Partnership Announced

Walmart Inc. (WMT) stock experienced a significant surge in premarket trading on Monday, January 12, 2026, jumping 3.46% to $118.49 as of 7:18 AM EST, following the announcement of a groundbreaking partnership with Google. The collaboration, unveiled on January 11, 2026, integrates Walmart and Sam’s Club products directly into Google’s Gemini AI platform, marking what executives are calling “the next great evolution in retail.”

The partnership aims to transform how customers discover and purchase products by leveraging artificial intelligence to create more intuitive shopping experiences accessible directly through Google’s AI assistant.

Walmart Integrates Products Into Google’s Gemini AI Platform

The partnership between Walmart and Google, announced at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show conference in New York City, enables shoppers to discover and purchase Walmart and Sam’s Club products through Google’s Gemini AI assistant using the Universal Commerce Protocol.

When customers ask Gemini for product recommendations, such as camping equipment for spring, the AI will automatically include relevant items from Walmart’s extensive inventory. The experience will launch first in the United States before expanding internationally, though specific launch dates and financial terms were not disclosed.

Incoming Walmart CEO John Furner emphasized that this represents a fundamental shift in retail, stating, “The transition from traditional web or app search to agent-led commerce represents the next great evolution in retail. We aren’t just watching the shift, we are driving it.”

The partnership offers personalized shopping by recommending complementary items based on past purchases when customers link their accounts, combines orders with existing cart items, and provides fast delivery with hundreds of thousands of products available in under three hours and as fast as 30 minutes.

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Walmart Expands AI Strategy to Capture the Future of Retail

This Google partnership follows Walmart’s October 2025 deal with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which introduced an “Instant Checkout” feature allowing purchases without leaving the AI chatbot. The retailer is aggressively pursuing multiple AI partnerships to meet customers where they increasingly begin their shopping journeys.

Walmart has also developed its own AI assistant, Sparky, a yellow smiley-faced chatbot integrated into its mobile app, demonstrating the company’s multi-platform AI strategy.

David Guggina, Walmart U.S.’s chief ecommerce officer, explained that agentic AI helps the company “meet customers earlier in their shopping journey and in more places.” Google CEO Sundar Pichai described the partnership as bringing “a new open standard to make agentic commerce a reality,” highlighting the collaborative approach to developing next-generation shopping experiences.

With approximately 270 million customers visiting over 10,750 stores weekly and fiscal year 2025 revenue of $681 billion, Walmart’s scale combined with Google’s AI capabilities positions both companies at the forefront of the AI commerce revolution.

Walmart Shares Jump in Premarket on AI Partnership News

Walmart shares closed at $114.53 on January 9, 2026, up 1.29%, before surging to $118.49 in premarket trading on Monday morning, representing a 3.46% gain. The stock has demonstrated strong momentum recently, with analysts optimistic about the company’s prospects as it prepares to join the Nasdaq-100 Index on January 20, 2026, which could attract up to $19 billion in index-fund inflows. With a market capitalization of $913.13 billion, Walmart is approaching the coveted $1 trillion valuation milestone.

The company’s stock has shown impressive performance over various time periods, with a year-to-date return of 2.80%, a one-year return of 25.95%, and a remarkable three-year return of 145.87%.

Analysts have set an average price target of $122.23, with recent upgrades including Barclays raising its target from $108 to $125 and maintaining an Overweight rating. The stock’s 52-week range spans from $79.81 to $117.45, with the current trading levels near all-time highs.

Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.