Walmart Inc. is set to join the Nasdaq 100 Index, replacing AstraZeneca Plc, Nasdaq Global Indexes announced on Friday. The change will take effect before markets open on January 20, while US markets will remain closed on January 19 due to a public holiday.
Walmart’s inclusion comes after the retail giant shifted its primary stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq last year, marking the largest exchange transfer on record. The move paved the way for the company’s entry into the tech heavy benchmark, although timing issues had caused it to miss the annual December reconstitution.
According to estimates by Jefferies Financial Group Inc., Walmart’s addition to the Nasdaq 100 could trigger nearly $19 billion in inflows as index tracking funds and exchange-traded products rebalance their portfolios. The retailer was widely expected to join earlier, but its listing switch fell outside the cutoff period used to compile index market data.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company has seen its market capitalisation surge to nearly $1 trillion, driven by steady sales growth and increased market share as consumers gravitated toward lower-priced essentials amid economic uncertainty. Walmart has also expanded its digital footprint, with its US e-commerce business expected to turn profitable this year.
Growth in advertising, marketplace services and membership revenue has further strengthened its earnings outlook. The company has also stepped up its use of artificial intelligence across operations such as workforce scheduling and supply chain management, while rolling out AI-powered shopping tools in partnership with OpenAI.
Walmart shares have delivered a total return of 146 per cent over the past three years, significantly outperforming AstraZeneca, whose shares rose 42 per cent during the same period.
AstraZeneca’s removal from the index extends its retreat from pandemic era highs, when Covid-19 vaccine sales boosted its valuation. Since then, fading vaccine revenues and investor focus on rival obesity treatments have weighed on the stock.
The Nasdaq 100 tracks the largest non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq and underpins hundreds of billions of dollars in investment products. The index delivered a total return of around 21 per cent in 2025, outperforming both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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