Walmart salary data revealed: How much the retail giant pays designers, software engineers, and other tech workers
The 63-year-old company has been the largest retailer in the world for decades, and has held the top spot on the Fortune 500 list since 2013. But it has also invested heavily over the last several years in becoming a powerhouse of e-commerce and retail media.
Salary data shows how serious Walmart is about competing with the likes of Amazon, Facebook, and Google for talent to beef up its tech.
Company filings with the US Department of Labor show Walmart sought to hire around 1,750 workers through the US H-1B visa program in the first half of this reporting year, largely in software development, business intelligence, and IT. That number is up substantially from about 1,100 for the same period two years before.
This publicly available work visa data — which companies are required to disclose to the government — only refers to foreign hires and doesn't include equity or other benefits that employees can receive in addition to their base pay.
A Walmart spokesperson said the company's compensation packages include salary, bonus opportunities, and stock awards, and that it invests in employees' career growth.
Still, the reported pay rates are benchmarked against industry standards for US workers. That can shed light on how much Walmart employees earn in certain roles, and where the company is looking to grow.
Walmart boasts a global workforce of 2.1 million people, of whom about 1.6 million are in the US, making it the largest private employer in both cases.
More than two-thirds of the company's 45,000 open positions worldwide as of July 23 are for jobs in Walmart stores and Sam's Club warehouses, while about 550 openings are tech and analyst roles.
The company has been expanding in tech, hiring in July a new EVP of AI acceleration, product and design who reports directly into the CEO and recruiting for an EVP of AI platforms.
Other employers, including Amazon, submit work visa data, and Walmart's salaries are largely in line with those for similar roles at the e-commerce giant.
Most of Walmart's white-collar jobs are based either in its Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters or in one of the company's satellite offices in the Bay Area. According to the H-1B data, about half of the positions are in Bentonville, while a third are in California, and most of the remainder are assigned to sites in Texas, New Jersey, Washington, and Virginia.
Here's a deeper look at some of the roles and their annual base salaries:
Software engineers can earn up to $286,000
Software Engineer III: $99,244 to $234,000
Senior Software Engineer: $115,167 to $234,000
Staff, Software Engineer: $127,292 to $286,000
Principal Software Engineer: $152,027 to $286,000
Many IT project managers start at $121,000
Senior Product Manager: $121,000 to $286,000
Staff Product Manager: $136,500 to $286,000
Principal Product Manager: $145,332 to $286,000
Data scientists can make more than $108,000
Senior Data Scientist: $127,304 to $234,000
Staff Data Scientist: $138,333 to $286,000
Principal, Data Scientist: $158,642 to $286,000
Marketers and UX designers can pull up to $234,000
Senior Design Researcher: $142,002 to $234,000
Senior Manager, Product Marketing: $154,357 to $234,000
Director, Advertising Sales: $229,477
Senior UX Designer: $155,000 to $234,000
Senior Manager, UX Design: $183,227 to $286,000
Team leaders can take home more than $300,000
Director, Software Engineering: $190,486 to $312,000
Director, Data Science: $188,885 to $338,000
Distinguished Architect: $184,827 to $338,000
Director, Product Management: $201,323 to $338,000
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Here's a detailed look at revenue growth across GE HealthCare's segments: Read more here or listen to the earnings call live here. Garmin stock rises after the company raised its full-year outlook Reuters reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. Etsy beats quarterly revenue estimates on strong demand Etsy (ETSY) stock gained 6% in premarket trading after the company's quarterly results showed it was largely able to withstand a slowdown in consumer spending. Reuters reports: Read more here. Etsy (ETSY) stock gained 6% in premarket trading after the company's quarterly results showed it was largely able to withstand a slowdown in consumer spending. Reuters reports: Read more here. Hershey lowers earnings guidance Hershey (HSY) lowered its full-year earnings guidance on Wednesday, reflecting the effects of tariffs for the rest of the year. The chocolate maker expects its adjusted earnings per share to fall 36% to 38% this year, compared to its prior forecast of earnings declining in the mid-30% range. Hershey also said that its tariff expenses for the full year will be approximately $170 million to $180 million. The company's top- and bottom-line results beat Wall Street estimates, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence: Hershey's earnings call begins at 8:15 a.m. ET. You can listen to it here. Hershey (HSY) lowered its full-year earnings guidance on Wednesday, reflecting the effects of tariffs for the rest of the year. The chocolate maker expects its adjusted earnings per share to fall 36% to 38% this year, compared to its prior forecast of earnings declining in the mid-30% range. Hershey also said that its tariff expenses for the full year will be approximately $170 million to $180 million. 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Kraft Heinz beats quarterly revenue estimates on steady US demand Reuters reports: Reuters reports: Insurer Humana raises annual profit forecast, shares climb Humana (HUM) stock rose 7% on Wednesday before the bell after the health insurance group raised its annual profit forecast. Reuters reports: Read more here. Humana (HUM) stock rose 7% on Wednesday before the bell after the health insurance group raised its annual profit forecast. Reuters reports: Read more here. Vans parent VF Corp beats quarterly revenue estimates on improving demand Vans parent group, VF Corp (VFC) beat first-quarter revenue estimates on Wednesday. Aided by an uptick in demand for its apparel and footwear products, the company's stock rose 15% in premarket trading. Reuters reports: Read more here. Vans parent group, VF Corp (VFC) beat first-quarter revenue estimates on Wednesday. Aided by an uptick in demand for its apparel and footwear products, the company's stock rose 15% in premarket trading. 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US same-store sales fell 2%, in line with the prior quarter's drop but less than the 2.5% drop that had been forecast. That was driven lower by a 4% decline in comparable transactions. Wall Street expected a sharper 4.5% decline. Global same-store sales fell 2%, more than the 1.5% decline expected, per Bloomberg data, marking an acceleration from the previous quarter's 1% drop. CEO Brian Niccol said in the release the company has "fixed a lot and done the hard work on the hard things to build a strong operating foundation, and based on my experience of turnarounds, we are ahead of schedule." Read more here. Starbucks (SBUX) reported a sixth-straight quarterly drop in US same-store sales on Tuesday. The company continues to grapple with an uncertain consumer environment as CEO Brian Niccol continues his turnaround efforts at the coffee giant. US same-store sales fell 2%, in line with the prior quarter's drop but less than the 2.5% drop that had been forecast. 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Boston Globe
2 hours ago
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Shoppers are stressed, but some brands are raising prices anyway
In a media briefing call on Tuesday, CFO Andre Schulten called the increase 'moderate,' 'adequate,' and in line with 'the typical inflation consumers would experience.' P&G's move could be a harbinger of increasing prices, including on groceries, household staples, apparel and electronics. While spending data shows Americans are looking for bargains, economists warn that such price increases will further strain consumers battling stubborn inflation, high interest rates, and rising personal debt and energy costs. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Meanwhile, consumers' outlook on the economy is the worst it has been in years. Advertisement Some retailers have already started raising prices. Walmart, a bellwether for the industry and US consumer, has targeted baby gear, kitchenware, and toys — items mostly manufactured in China. Industry experts expect some groceries will soon follow. 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Shoppers are spending less on vacations, buying store brands at the supermarket, and trading down to budget retailers. They're also leaning on credit cards and buy-now-pay-later services. 'Consumers have had a really tough time sorting through the 'tariff noise,'' said Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning think tank. 'They don't know when prices are going to increase, what supply is going to be available.' Back-to-school shopping has also been a recent example, she said. Families this year bought clothes, shoes, school supplies, and electronics earlier than ever, in hopes of locking in deals and preempting tariff-induced price increases, according to the National Retail Federation. They also took advantage of summer promotions: During Amazon's Prime Day Event, sales of backpacks, lunchboxes, binders, calculators, and children's apparel were up 175 percent year-over-year, according to Adobe Analytics. The NRF also found that families are pulling back, noting that those with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $858 this year, down from $874 last year. And shoppers are spending more at budget chains, such as J. Crew Factory and Aeropostale, while moving away from brand name backpacks such as Kipling and Herschel Supply, according to credit- and debit-card data from Consumer Edge. Advertisement Meanwhile, consumers are using AI tools to find bargains. In early July, as several major retailers promoted their summer sales events, Adobe Analytics tracked a 3,300 percent surge year-over-year in traffic to retail sites from generative AI platforms. 'What that tells us is consumers are leaning into Gen AI platforms to give guidance on where they can find cheaper versions of goods or better pricing on a certain item,' said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. Retailers report that their customers are more focused on value and price — and they are trading down where they shop and what brands they buy. Consumers of all income brackets are buying more store-label products when grocery shopping as opposed to national brands, as well as good-quality duplicates of fragrance, beauty and apparel. P&G has seen this trade-down trend in its own product assortment among lower-income customers, Schulten said Tuesday. For example, they are swapping out Tide for more affordable and less concentrated Tide Simply, or Pampers diapers for Luvs. P&G has also seen slower spending in several categories, including skin and personal care, baby care, grooming, feminine care, home care, and hair care. 'The lower-income consumer and the higher-income consumer are reacting to the current volatility they are seeing and they are observing, and we see consumption trends consistently decelerating,' Schulten said. 'Consumers are a bit more careful in terms of consumption.' The company, which saw net sales in its last fiscal-year quarter increase 2 percent to $20.9 billion, said it plans to restructure in response to tariffs. This includes discontinuing some brands and products, adjusting its supply chain, and cutting down its workforce by about 15 percent over the next two years, it said. Advertisement
