Walmart exits JD.com's equity investment to ease funding pressure on diversification strategy

After the U.S. stock market closed on August 21st, Walmart disclosed in its latest regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had divested all of its shares in JD.com. According to analysis from investors close to the transaction, this divestment is likely a move by Walmart to alleviate its own financial pressure. In the second quarter, Walmart's revenue growth slowed down, cash flow decreased, and the need to respond to changes in the current market environment with a diversified strategy arose. Therefore, releasing resources, optimizing capital allocation, and exiting its equity investment in JD.com is a completely normal capital operation that does not involve any strategic cooperation between the two parties.

Public information shows that Walmart made a strategic investment in JD.com in 2016, and then in 2018, the two parties jointly invested in Dada to further deepen their cooperation. Leveraging Dada's integrated end-to-end instant fulfillment services for warehousing, picking, and distribution, Walmart and Sam's Club effectively addressed pain points such as a large number of complex SKUs, significant weekend peaks, and high requirements for logistics flexibility, thereby improving overall fulfillment efficiency and average picking efficiency. According to sources close to JD.com, the cooperation between the two parties over the past 8 years has achieved significant results in their respective established strategic goals, serving as a model of mutually beneficial cooperation. Walmart has completed its e-commerce layout in China, while JD.com has expanded its global supply chain capabilities. The business cooperation between the two parties has always been very smooth, and changes in equity investments will not affect any aspect of their cooperation. They remain important strategic partners to each other, with both parties intending to continue maintaining close business relations and expanding their domestic and international market operations