Empower CEO Edmund Murphy explains private investment in the 401(k)S and discusses how to deal with tariff disruptions from retail investors.
A Walmart executive told investors Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war has not shaken their confidence despite the taxation affecting retailer’s key trading partners.
“I want you to know how confident I am in our company. I’ve seen us navigate eras like September 11th, like the global financial crisis, the pandemic and, more recently, the post-inflation period.”
MacMillon admitted that the company is “departing to attack” while not affected by some effects in the short term.
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A Walmart executive told investors on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war had not shaken their confidence. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“As for the current environment, nothing has an impact on our confidence in our business or strategy. The changes we are making will give us even more strength and flexibility in our future,” he said.
John David Rainey, the company’s finance director, reiterated his sentiment, saying the company “sees an opportunity to accelerate profits in its share and maintains flexibility to invest in prices as tariffs apply to incoming products.”
President Donald Trump has already implemented a 10% baseline tariff (tax on imports) on all imports into the United States that came into effect last week. However, the administration is slapping tariffs in certain countries where tariffs are in place on American goods.
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Nearly two-thirds of Walmart’s US spending is directed towards products manufactured, assembled or grown in the US, while the remaining third comes from around the world, with China and Mexico as their biggest contributors.
ticker security last change change%WMT WalmartInc. 89.61+7.81+9.55%
The company has long warned that tariffs would increase consumer prices, and Rainey told Fox Business late last year that “taxation would be inflation.”
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In February, Rainey told Fox Business Digital that the company was trying to absorb some of the impact it had on suppliers, diversify its supply and leaning towards private brands.
Walmart CEO Doug MacMillon admitted that the company is “located to carry out an attack” although it is unimmunized by some effects in the short term. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images/Getty Images)
The company is still discussing with suppliers to lower prices, but there is no overall demand for a specific price reduction. Instead, Walmart negotiates price changes based on product categories, not country of origin.
The administration argues that tariffs can serve several purposes as negotiating tools to increase federal tax revenues to offset other tax cuts, promote reuse of manufacturing, or reduce tariffs between US trading partners.
These goals are contradictory in several respects. Tariffs that were imposed and later removed through negotiations will result in less tax revenues and incentives for reuse will be removed if trade barriers are reduced. Similarly, if businesses move their businesses to the US to avoid tariffs, governments will lessen their tax revenues.
Eric Revell from Fox Business contributed to this report.
