⚠ The Television Business Is Already Diluting the GrowthLow threat

Walmart (WMT) — threat to the moat

Walmart reports advertising growth excluding VIZIO because the figure excluding VIZIO is better.

In December 2024 Walmart paid $2.3 billion in cash to buy VIZIO, a television manufacturer, in order to sell advertising1. Eighteen months later the acquisition is subtracting from the growth rate it was bought to add to.

Advertising growth, June 2026 quarter (%)+43%Walmart Connect ex-VIZIO+38%Total global advertisingWalmart reports the ex-VIZIO figure because the ex-VIZIO figure is better.
Eighteen months after a $2.3 billion acquisition bought to accelerate advertising, the acquisition is growing more slowly than the business it was bought to accelerate.

The disclosure is in the June 2026 quarter. Total global advertising grew 38%; Walmart Connect excluding VIZIO grew 43%2. Walmart is reporting the ex-VIZIO figure because the ex-VIZIO figure is better, which is what companies do when an acquisition is diluting a headline number.

The thesis behind the deal was sound in outline. Integrating VIZIO into Walmart Connect gives the retailer direct access to customer data on viewing habits alongside shopping preferences, and a television is the one screen in a household where a company can reach somebody who is not shopping3. That is exactly what a retail media network wants, and it is how Walmart means to compete with Amazon, Google and Roku in connected-television advertising.

The difficulty is that connected-television advertising is a different business from sponsored search, competing against far larger media companies, without the closed-loop attribution that makes retail media valuable. A sponsored result on a Walmart product page converts because the customer is already buying. A television advertisement does not.

There is a version where this works — Walmart building a media property rather than a shelf-adjacent ad unit — and it is several years away from being provable either way.

Watch the gap between total advertising growth and Walmart Connect growth excluding VIZIO. It is five percentage points in the June 2026 quarter4. If the gap widens, the $2.3 billion bought a hardware company rather than a media one.

References
  1. ReportedIn December 2024 Walmart paid $2.3 billion in cash to buy VIZIO, a television manufacturer, in order to sell advertising.
    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. ReportedTotal global advertising grew 38%; 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 ↗
  3. ReportedIntegrating VIZIO into Walmart Connect gives the retailer direct access to customer data on viewing habits alongside shopping preferences, and a television is the one screen in a household where a company can reach somebody who is not shopping.
    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. ReportedIt is five 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