Walmart said Friday that its longtime chief executive Doug McMillon, 59, will retire at the end of January after more than a decade leading the world’s largest retailer. His role as CEO will end on Jan. 31, 2026, and he will stay on the board for a period to support the handover. John Furner, 51, currently president and CEO of Walmart U.S., has been selected to take over on Feb. 1, the first change in the company’s top job since 2014.
News of the succession plan initially pushed Walmart’s shares down around 3% in premarket trading, reflecting investors’ sensitivity to leadership changes at a company seen as a gauge of U.S. consumer demand. Walmart estimates that close to 90% of U.S. households shop with the retailer and that more than 150 million customers visit its stores or website in a typical week, giving any shift at the top implications well beyond its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.
McMillon’s Record And Walmart’s Overhaul
McMillon first joined Walmart in 1984 as a teenage worker in a company warehouse and rose through merchandising and international posts before becoming CEO in 2014. Since then, annual revenue has climbed toward $681 billion, and the share price has more than quadrupled, turning Walmart into a dominant player not only in brick-and-mortar retail but also online.
He pushed the company to invest heavily in e-commerce, logistics and automation, repositioning Walmart as a “people-led, tech-powered” omnichannel retailer. The chain expanded curbside pickup and same-day delivery from its thousands of U.S. stores and developed new revenue streams such as digital advertising and the Walmart+ subscription program, designed to rival Amazon Prime by combining delivery benefits with fuel and entertainment perks.
McMillon also led the company through the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply-chain disruptions and the surge in inflation that followed. As the largest private employer in the United States, with roughly 1.6 million workers, Walmart faced repeated scrutiny over pay and conditions. Under his leadership, the company raised entry-level wages in stages, broadened parental leave and created education programs that allow store employees to pursue degrees and move into higher-paid roles.
John Furner’s Path To The Corner Office
Furner, who will become CEO in February, is also a product of Walmart’s internal talent pipeline. He joined the retailer in 1993 as an hourly associate at Store 100 in Bentonville, later serving as store manager, buyer and merchandising executive. After working in leadership roles at Walmart China, he became chief merchant and then CEO of Sam’s Club, before being appointed president and CEO of Walmart U.S. in 2019. (
In that role, Furner has overseen more than 4,600 U.S. stores and about 1.5 million employees, emphasizing technology, data and remodeled locations that blend in-store shopping with pickup and delivery services. Industry analysts describe him as a continuity candidate whose background in merchandising and operations aligns with the strategy pursued under McMillon and with the board’s preference for promoting long-serving insiders.
Under the announced plan, McMillon will act as an adviser for roughly a year after stepping down, working with Furner and the board to manage the transition. The board unanimously elected Furner as the next chief executive and has signaled that existing priorities will remain central under the new leadership.
Opportunities And Risks For The Next Chapter
The handover comes as Walmart faces a demanding environment. The company is expanding its use of artificial intelligence and robotics in inventory management, route planning and customer service, while exploring new ways to let shoppers use chatbots and digital assistants to search for and order products. At the same time, it must contend with uneven consumer spending, higher borrowing costs and persistent competition from Amazon, Target and low-price grocers.
Credit analysts continue to rate Walmart in the high investment-grade band, citing its scale and cash generation, but note that staying ahead will require sustained spending on technology and its supply chain. The leadership change also arrives amid a broader wave of CEO moves across global retail, as chains adjust to changing shopping habits and ongoing pressure from tariffs and costs. In elevating Furner, a three-decade veteran of the company, Walmart is signaling that it intends to navigate those challenges with a familiar face at the top.
