✦ What VIZIO Was ForThin moat

Walmart (WMT) — the future bets

Walmart bought a television manufacturer to sell advertising, and it is currently diluting the advertising growth rate.

In February 2024 Walmart agreed to buy VIZIO, a television manufacturer, in an all-cash deal — about $2.3 billion — and closed the deal on 3 December 20241. It did not want the televisions.

What $2.3 billion boughtVIZIO,December 2024all-cash, $2.3bnSmartCast andWatchFree+an ownedadvertising surfacePlus Walmartpurchase dataviewing habits andshopping preferencesResult so farads +38%, Connectex-VIZIO +43%Walmart means to compete with Amazon, Google and Roku in connected television.
Walmart bought a television manufacturer to sell advertising, and reports its advertising growth excluding it — because the figure excluding it is better.

What it wanted was the screen. Integrating VIZIO into Walmart Connect gives the retailer direct access to customer data on viewing habits and shopping preferences, and control of VIZIO's WatchFree+ streaming service2. The thesis was that a company holding both could sell advertising against both: show a household an advertisement in its living room, then observe whether that household bought the product at Walmart. Walmart's stated ambition was to become a leader in connected-television advertising, competing with Amazon, Google and Roku3.

Eighteen months on the results are mixed in a very specific way. Total global advertising grew 38% in the June 2026 quarter; Walmart Connect excluding VIZIO grew 43%4. The business bought to accelerate advertising is currently growing more slowly than the advertising business it was bought to accelerate.

That does not make it a mistake. Connected-television advertising is a large market that Walmart had no way into, and building an audience of 19 million households organically was not an option. But it is a different business from sponsored search — competing against far larger media companies, without the closed-loop attribution that makes retail media valuable — and it will be judged over years rather than quarters.

The wider ambition was set out in June 2026, when Walmart laid out a vision for what it calls global commerce media5: the advertising business as a platform sold across all of its markets rather than an American product.

Watch the gap between total advertising growth and Walmart Connect excluding VIZIO. Five percentage points in the June 2026 quarter6. If that inverts, the acquisition has started working.

Moat trajectory: Narrowing

Eighteen months after closing, the acquisition is growing more slowly than the advertising business it was bought to accelerate: total advertising grew 38% in the June quarter while Walmart Connect excluding VIZIO grew 43%. Connected television is a real market and this is not yet evidence of winning it.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Advertising growth gap, total against ex-VIZIO
38% against 43%

Walmart reports the figure excluding VIZIO because the figure excluding VIZIO is better: the $2.3 billion television business bought to accelerate advertising is currently diluting it. If the gap inverts, the acquisition has started working.

Source: Walmart second-quarter fiscal 2027 results (August 20, 2026) ↗
References
  1. ReportedIn February 2024 Walmart agreed to buy VIZIO, a television manufacturer, in an all-cash deal — about $2.3 billion — and closed the deal on 3 December 2024.
    TechCrunch - Walmart completes its $2.3 billion acquisition of VIZIO on December 3, 2024 at $11.50 a share, for the SmartCast operating system and its more than 19 million active accounts, to bring to market new and differentiated ways for advertisers to connect with customers at scale through Walmart Connect — December 2024 · publ. December 3, 2024 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIntegrating VIZIO into Walmart Connect gives the retailer direct access to customer data on viewing habits and shopping preferences, and control of VIZIO's WatchFree+ streaming service.
    TechCrunch - Walmart completes its $2.3 billion acquisition of VIZIO on December 3, 2024 at $11.50 a share, for the SmartCast operating system and its more than 19 million active accounts, to bring to market new and differentiated ways for advertisers to connect with customers at scale through Walmart Connect — December 2024 · publ. December 3, 2024 · source ↗
  3. ReportedWalmart's stated ambition was to become a leader in connected-television advertising, competing with Amazon, Google and Roku.
    TechCrunch - Walmart completes its $2.3 billion acquisition of VIZIO on December 3, 2024 at $11.50 a share, for the SmartCast operating system and its more than 19 million active accounts, to bring to market new and differentiated ways for advertisers to connect with customers at scale through Walmart Connect — December 2024 · publ. December 3, 2024 · source ↗
  4. ReportedTotal global advertising grew 38% in the June 2026 quarter; Walmart Connect excluding VIZIO grew 43%.
    Walmart second-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings release (Form 8-K exhibit 99.1) - revenue $187.9 billion +5.9% and +5.1% in constant currency; operating income +28.8% and +17.4% adjusted in constant currency; global eCommerce +23%; global advertising +38% with Walmart Connect excluding VIZIO +43%; membership fee revenue +17%; gross profit rate +96 basis points and Walmart U.S. +158; Walmart U.S. comp sales +2.6% and operating income +20.6% with operating expenses deleveraged 72 basis points; Sam's Club operating income +44.3% and International +16.6%; ROA 8.0% and ROI 15.4%; free cash flow $5.5 billion; 42.3 million shares repurchased for $5.1 billion year to date; FY27 guidance of 4.0-5.0% net sales growth, 7.0-8.5% adjusted operating income growth and $2.80-$2.87 adjusted EPS — Q2 FY2027 · publ. August 20, 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedThe wider ambition was set out in June 2026, when Walmart laid out a vision for what it calls global commerce media: the advertising business as a platform sold across all of its markets rather than an American product.
    Walmart corporate announcement - Walmart sets the vision for the next era of global commerce media, extending the advertising platform across its markets — 2026 · publ. June 22, 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedFive percentage points in the June 2026 quarter.
    Walmart second-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings release (Form 8-K exhibit 99.1) - revenue $187.9 billion +5.9% and +5.1% in constant currency; operating income +28.8% and +17.4% adjusted in constant currency; global eCommerce +23%; global advertising +38% with Walmart Connect excluding VIZIO +43%; membership fee revenue +17%; gross profit rate +96 basis points and Walmart U.S. +158; Walmart U.S. comp sales +2.6% and operating income +20.6% with operating expenses deleveraged 72 basis points; Sam's Club operating income +44.3% and International +16.6%; ROA 8.0% and ROI 15.4%; free cash flow $5.5 billion; 42.3 million shares repurchased for $5.1 billion year to date; FY27 guidance of 4.0-5.0% net sales growth, 7.0-8.5% adjusted operating income growth and $2.80-$2.87 adjusted EPS — Q2 FY2027 · publ. August 20, 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 22, 2026