Walmart plans $2.5B US debt sale, Canadian debut

Walmart is also weighing a debut Canadian-dollar offering of at least C$3.5 billion, or about $2.5 billion, which would open a new funding channel and broaden its investor base. The retailer has asked Bank of America, Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion Bank to arrange investor calls for the proposed sale, which could include four tranches with maturities from four to 30 years.

The borrowing push reflects a capital program that is getting larger just as Walmart keeps returning to debt markets. Analysts expect the company to spend a record $29 billion next year, while it has about $3.3 billion of bonds maturing in 2027. Walmart typically issues bonds about once a year; this US offering would be its second trip to the market in 2026 after a $4.25 billion sale in April.

For investors, the message is that Walmart can still access cheap funding at scale despite a tougher macro backdrop and rising corporate borrowing needs across the market. The company’s shares have been trading well above both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while technical readings such as RSI remain elevated, reflecting strong momentum in the stock even as the retailer leans more on debt to finance growth.

A Canadian-dollar debut would also follow a broader trend of large US issuers seeking alternative markets to diversify funding, a path taken this year by Alphabet and Amazon as they financed heavy AI spending. For Walmart, the key question now is whether it proceeds with the Canadian deal, and at what size and pricing, as it balances expansion, automation and debt management.