Key Points
Amazon’s first-quarter results reveals that consumers are starting to spend money again.
Walmart is coming off a quarter in which its e-commerce sales surged 24% year over year.
TJX has rarely experienced a down year in sales, and it continues to expand its off-price model globally.
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Amazon is seeing strong momentum in e-commerce. In the first quarter, e-commerce unit sales grew 15% year over year — the highest growth since the end of the pandemic.
Consumers are spending money again, and it could reflect tax relief. As of April 2, the IRS reported that tax refunds were up by more than 10% compared to 2025.
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Amazon likely won’t be the only retailer reporting strong results this quarter. Here are two other top retail stocks to watch.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
1. Walmart
Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) is positioned to benefit from improving consumer spending trends. In an economy where consumers are still value-conscious but spending money, Walmart’s “everyday low prices” can thrive.
The company will report fiscal first-quarter earnings results on May 21. Sales are expected to grow 5% year over year to reach $172 billion, virtually all of which will come from existing stores. Earnings are expected to increase by 8% to $0.66 per share.
Importantly, Walmart is growing e-commerce much faster than Amazon. E-commerce sales surged 24% year over year in the fiscal fourth quarter — far surpassing Amazon’s 8% increase in Q4 2025 and 9% in Q1 2026.
Walmart is benefiting from investments in artificial intelligence (AI), such as the Sparky shopping assistant. Customer engagement has been strong, with Sparky users typically spending about 35% more per order.
Other high-margin revenue opportunities, such as memberships (e.g., Walmart+) and advertising, should support earnings growth. These opportunities stem from Walmart’s e-commerce business and are important areas to watch in upcoming earnings reports.
However, it’s unclear how much upside the stock offers from here. The forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 45, which is quite expensive for a company growing earnings at single-digit rates.
2. TJX Companies
TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) is built to thrive in almost any economic environment. It’s the leading off-price retailer (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra, and Homesense). The stock has climbed 122% over the last five years, despite high inflation hitting consumers’ wallets.
What stands out is that TJX has reported sales growth every year, except one (2020), over the past 20 years. Comparable-store sales grew 5% year over year in the fiscal fourth quarter, with adjusted earnings up 16%.
The company should report fiscal first-quarter earnings results in late May. Analysts expect sales to increase 6.5% year over year to $13.9 billion in fiscal Q1, with earnings up 8.7% to $1. The lower earnings growth reflects seasonal cost fluctuations, foreign currency drag from international sales, and potential tariff headwinds.
But as management reported last quarter, the availability of quality inventory “continues to be outstanding.” This is excellent for near-term sales, as it allows TJX to offer attractive deals that draw customers into stores.
The area to watch is international growth. It continues to see room for growth in Europe, Mexico, and the Middle East. It’s also eyeing store upgrades and adding new categories in the e-commerce channel to drive more sales.
TJX executes as well as anyone in the retail sector, as evidenced by its consistent financial history. This is also why, at a forward P/E of 30, I wouldn’t call the stock too expensive; it’s probably priced about right.
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John Ballard has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, TJX Companies, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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