Walmart shares fell over 7% today, as the country's largest retailer warned that consumers are feeling pressure from higher fuel prices and inflation.

Why it matters: Retailers are fighting for value-conscious consumers who are facing increasingly tighter budgets and ongoing economic uncertainty.

Driving the news: Walmart reported strong first-quarter results today, with U.S. comparable sales rising 4.1% and global e-commerce sales jumping 26% — but investors seemed more focused on the retailer's ho-hum outlook for the fiscal year ahead and signs of mounting consumer strain.

• ⚠️ "When I look at the consumer, especially here in the U.S., they're telling us they're feeling some pressure," CEO John Furner said, adding the company is expanding temporary price rollbacks and investing heavily in faster delivery.
• CFO John David Rainey pointed to a trend at Walmart's gas stations, where the average number of gallons customers pumped fell below 10 for the first time since 2022 — "an indication of stress."

The big picture: Walmart, Kroger and Target are all emphasizing value and convenience as consumers navigate an uncertain economy.

• ✂️ Bloomberg reported today that Kroger plans some of its biggest price cuts in years to compete more aggressively with Walmart and Costco.
• 💸 Target executives said shoppers remain "highly choiceful" about where they spend their "valuable time and money."
• 🏷️ Walmart said it now has roughly 7,200 rollbacks across its assortment, up more than 20% from a year ago.

🗣️ What they're saying: "The single best return that we can have on $1 of capital right now is to invest in the customer and invest in price," Rainey said.

• Walmart said it has filed for tariff refunds but does not expect a "massive windfall" from the effort.
• Executives warned higher fuel prices could create upward pressure on prices later this year.

Go deeper

The budding quantum industry got a jolt today as the Trump administration delivered a $2 billion investment in nine companies, including $1 billion for IBM.

Why it matters: Quantum computing could have huge implications for everything from drug discovery to financial modeling to AI development — but it's a costly sector that has not yet delivered substantial practical results.

Zoom in: The big winners of the $2 billion in CHIPS Act funding include:

• $1 billion to IBM for a new quantum wafer foundry housed under a newly established division called Anderon. IBM is matching the $1 billion investment.
• $375 million to GlobalFoundries to stand up a domestic foundry.
• $100 million each to several other companies, including the publicly traded D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing and Infleqtion.

💉 Eli Lilly reported that a new drug under development delivered massive weight loss in a clinical trial — more than its current GLP-1 shots and similar to the effects of gastric bypass surgery for people with severe obesity. (Axios)

🏡 Mortgage rates hit their highest point since August, averaging 6.51% for 30-year fixed-rate loans. (WSJ)

🚗 Stellantis announced plans to invest $70 billion to reinvigorate its struggling product lineup, focusing heavily on its core global brands of Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat. (Axios)

Victoria's Secret is getting less shy about embracing its lusty identity.

State of play: The retailer — which had notably sought for several years to distance itself from its naughty image — announced today that it's changing its stock ticker symbol.

• It's switching from VSCO (for Victoria's Secret & Co.) to VSXY.
• The brand is embracing "who it is, what it stands for, and how it shows up for customers," it said in a statement, celebrating "sexy in all its forms."

Flashback: Victoria's Secret is betting that making lingerie "fun" again can reverse years of heavy discounting and sliding sales, Axios' Kelly Tyko reported in March.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: The ticker symbol SEXY was available, but I guess they decided to leave something to the imagination.