American retail is undergoing a massive structural shift. Hosts Chuck Zodda and Mike Armstrong welcome Luke Kawa from Sherwood News to break down Walmart&#x27;s latest earnings, surging online grocery demand, and why high gas prices are altering consumer behavior. Plus, a look at Intuit&#x27;s massive 17% workforce reduction as corporate America races to pivot to an AI-first ecosystem. Key Takeaways:The Premiumization of Walmart: Guest Luke Kawa joins to unpack how higher-income households switching to online grocery delivery are reshaping the retail giant. Gas Prices vs. Retail Guidance: Why Walmart&#x27;s stellar first quarter was overshadowed by a cautious financial outlook tied to rising fuel costs. The AI Restructuring Wave: Analyzing Intuit&#x27;s sudden decision to lay off 17% of its workforce to fund an aggressive pivot into an AI-first platform. TSA &amp; The Travel Economy: What the latest airport checkpoint data reveals about modern consumer discretionary spending. Links &amp; Resources:Read more from Luke: sherwood.news Watch Live on YouTube: youtube.com/thefinancialexchangeshow Follow us on X: @TFEshow Support Our Veterans: dav5k.boston Disclaimer: The Financial Exchange is produced by Money Matters Radio and hosted by employees of the Armstrong Advisory Group. Opinions expressed are solely those of the hosts. This program does not offer specific investment advice.

Walmart’s Digital Shift & The AI-First Layoff Trend

The Financial Exchange Show

# Full Transcript

**Podcast:** The Financial Exchange Show

## Participants

- **Chuck Zodda** (The Financial Exchange Network)
- **Mike Armstrong** (The Financial Exchange Network)
- **Luke Cowell** (Sherwood News)

## Transcript

The Financial Exchange is produced by Money Matters Radio and is hosted by employees of the Armstrong Advisory Group, a registered investment advisor. All opinions expressed are solely those of the hosts. Do not reflect the opinions of Armstrong Advisory or anyone else. Investments can lose money. This program does not offer any specific financial or investment advice. Please consult your own financial tax and estate planning advisors before making any investment decisions. Armstrong Advisory and the advertisers heard on this program do not endorse each other or their services. Armstrong and Money Matters Radio do not compensate each other for referrals and are not affiliated.

This is The Financial Exchange with Chuck Zotta and Mike Armstrong. Your exclusive look at business and financial news affecting your day, your city, your world. Stay informed and up-to-date about economic and market trends, plus breaking business news every day. The Financial Exchange is a proud partner of the Disabled American Veterans Department of Massachusetts. Help us support our great American heroes by visiting DAV5K.com.

And making a donation today. This is the Financial Exchange with Chuck Zotta and Mike Armstrong.

Chuck, Mike and Tucker with you here. And as we kick things off, stocks just for the last week or so kind of stuck in neutral trying to figure out what comes next. Actually, more than the last, well, yeah, last two weeks since about May 8th. So again, a little bit more than two weeks that we've been here now. And just kind of treading water. You know, we had that one spike up to 7,500 on the S&P. But other than that, we're kind of hanging out in the 7,400 range.

Sure. Oil prices fell yesterday below 100 bucks a barrel. They're back up today above 100 bucks a barrel. Iran's Supreme Leader saying that uranium must stay in the country, causing some of that. Then an Iranian unnamed official said, no, that's not true. So as I've said since the beginning, I don't know what's going on negotiating wise. I'm not going to pretend to. All I know is what is or isn't happening in terms of production and transit.

And there's just not much going on there. Stocks modestly off today. S&P down 36 points, about a half percent. Nothing crazy. Just a little bit of a garden variety pullback. Dow Jones is, let's see, down 118 points, about a quarter percent. NASDAQ composite down 195, about three quarters of a percent. So a little bit of a sell off taking place. But again, nothing too significant.

Bonds selling off modestly as well. Ten-year treasury back up above 4.6 at 4.619 percent. We got the dollar up 0.31 percent to 99.32 and gold off 26.30 an ounce to 45.09. Crude oil, as Mike mentioned, back above $100 a barrel at 101.40 on West Texa...

Walmart’s Digital Shift & The AI-First Layoff Trend

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.

Walmart’s Digital Shift & The AI-First Layoff Trend

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are findingedge in conversations you're not hearing.

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.