Here’s how Walmart is using $2.9B in tariff refunds

( NewsNation ) — Walmart says its $2.9 billion tariff refund is going toward lowering prices for shoppers.

The retailer said Thursday it delivered more than 11,000 rollbacks — temporary price cuts — across its U.S. business in the second quarter, up from 7,200 in the first quarter.

“We’re investing heavily in price because customers need us to and because we believe it drives market share gains over time,” Walmart CEO John Furner said during the company’s earnings call .

John David Rainey, the retailer’s chief financial officer, said the company has received “substantially all” of the $2.9 billion in tariff refunds it was eligible for and is directing the money toward “customer experience” and “price leadership,” with an emphasis on grocery and general merchandise.

Walmart’s nearly $3 billion tariff refund is the largest reported by a U.S. company since the government began returning money after the Supreme Court struck down a broad swath of President Trump’s import taxes.

Court filings show the government had paid out roughly $100 billion in tariff refunds by the end of July.

Those refunds are going back to importers that paid the tariffs directly, even though research suggests consumers absorbed some of the cost through higher prices.

Last month, Walmart announced price rollbacks on “thousands of summer favorites,” including ground beef and potato chips. Trump said the move came at his administration’s request, though the company’s release didn’t mention the president.

The emphasis on lower prices comes as Walmart says higher fuel costs are putting more pressure on consumers and raising the retailer’s own expenses.

Rainey added that the company feels it when gas prices rise above $4 a gallon, suggesting that threshold has a “psychological impact” on shoppers and the choices they make.

“June was a little more obvious as we look at the quarter in terms of customers making trade-offs,” he said on Thursday’s earnings call. “It’s why we have leaned so heavily into lower prices.”

The company’s latest results offered a mixed picture.

Growth in Walmart’s U.S. comparable sales slowed to its weakest pace in six years, though revenue and profit topped expectations, according to The Associated Press .

The profit beat came with an asterisk: It was boosted by the $2.9 billion tariff refund that the company won’t be able to count on in the quarters ahead.

Walmart shares fell roughly 10 percent on Thursday as slower sales growth stoked concerns about mounting pressure on consumers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.