Walmart CEO Doug McMillon will be retiring next year, according to a filing on Friday. The CEO will be succeeded by John Furner, the Walmart U.S. CEO, on Feb. 1. This announcement comes only six years before the retailer is set to report quarterly earnings.
McMillon had stepped into the top role in 2014, and he oversaw the company’s growth as an e-commerce giant. He also oversaw the business during the trying circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as supply chain disruptions, high inflation and tariff changes.
McMillon will officially retire on Jan. 1, He will continue to serve as an executive officer of the company and be employed by Walmart as an advisor through Jan. 31, 2027. Furner has been CEO of Walmart’s U.S. business since 2019, and in the role, he oversees more than 4,600 stores and the largest sector of the company. He started at the company in 1993 as an hourly associate.
READ: Github CEO to step down; platform to fold into Microsoft’s CoreAI division (
Walmart’s shares have risen more than 300% during McMillon’s time as CEO. The company’s stock closed Friday at $102.48, roughly flat.
Walmart chairman Greg Penner described Furner as “the right leader to guide Walmart into the next chapter of our growth and transformation.”
“After starting as an hourly associate and being with us for over 30 years in a variety of leadership roles across all three of our operating segments, John understands every dimension of our business – from the sales floor to global strategy,” Penner said.
“Serving as Walmart’s CEO has been a great honor and I’m thankful to our Board and the Walton family for the opportunity,” McMillon said in a statement. He added that Furner’s “curiosity and digital acumen combined with a deep commitment to our people and culture will enable him to take us to the next level.”
McMillon played a major role in Walmart’s transformation into an e-commerce giant and positioning the company to sell more advertisements and more discretionary merchandise, along with dozens of eggs and gallons of milk. McMillion, in his early days as CEO, greenlit the acquisition of Jet.com in 2016.
This deal — worth $3.3 billion — prompted debate on whether the deal was necessary, and whether the company overpaid for the deal. However, the deal gained Walmart talent with digital know-how, particularly Jet.com founder and serial entrepreneur Marc Lore who had sold his previous company, Quidsi, the parent of Diapers.com, to Amazon and worked for Amazon for years.
McMillon also shook up Walmart’s pay structure for its hundreds of thousands of employees, announcing in 2015 that the company would give a raise to half a million hourly employees and increase wages to $9 an hour. This move brought forth criticism from Wall Street. Walmart also hiked wages multiple times recently, though it still faced criticism for failing to share enough of its profits with hourly employees through pay and benefits.
McMillon recently commented on AI, saying it was going to “literally change every job.” He said in a statement that the growth of AI will be a new dynamic facing his successor. He also said that Furner is “uniquely capable of leading the company through this next AI-driven transformation.”
Walmart’s competitor Target is also set to get a new CEO in 2026. Current CEO Brian Cornell had announced he would step down early next year after a decade in the role. Michael Fiddelke, who currently serves as chief operating officer, will assume the role of CEO on Feb. 1, 2026, while Cornell would remain in the company as executive chair of the board of directors.