According to a report by CNN on August 19 local time, Walmart's latest quarterly report shows that the company received approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds this quarter. This represents the highest amount of refunds disclosed by any company.
Walmart told CNN that the company can request a refund of approximately $2.9 billion in tariffs. This money is government funds that are being returned to businesses for paying tariffs on imported goods in 2025 and early 2026. So far, the company has received most of the refunds.
Walmart is often considered a barometer of the strength of consumer spending in the United States. Walmart announced plans to use the tax refund to “enhance customer experience and pricing,” which means reducing prices to gain market share. However, sales at its US stores fell short of expectations, with growth only reaching 2.6% this quarter, compared to 4.6% in the same period last year. The main reasons for this were the impact of price cuts on certain products, such as pharmaceuticals, and the increase in gasoline costs, which squeezed profits in the gasoline sales segment.
Apart from Walmart, the American retail giant TJX earlier this week revealed that it received refunds amounting to $994 million. TJX, which operates chain stores such as TJ Maxx and Marshall Stores, received $331 million in refunds. Home improvement retailers Home Depot and Lowe's respectively received refunds of $730 million and $80 million.
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the extensive tariff policies implemented by President Trump were illegal. In May, the government began issuing refunds totaling $168 billion to 330,000 importers. Court documents submitted by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that as of July 31, $100 billion in refunds had been disbursed.
From a legal perspective, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is only obligated to issue refunds to the entities that actually paid the tariffs. However, several companies are facing class-action lawsuits filed by consumers, who wish to receive a portion of the refunds, believing that the initial tariff costs have been passed on to them.
Despite consumer pressure, most companies have not stated whether ordinary consumers who pay higher prices can benefit from this huge refund.
