Sunday, August 18, 2024

WalMart Says AI Is The Real Deal (WMT)

Alt. headline: Company with a lot of money to spend sees value in AI capital expenditures.

From Barron's August 16:

Walmart Lauds AI. That’s Good News for Tech Stocks.
The giant retailer lauds the benefits of artificial intelligence. That’s good news for tech stocks, says one market strategist. Plus, investment commentary on China’s woes, San Francisco’s real estate.

This commentary was issued recently by money managers, research firms, and market newsletter writers and has been edited by Barron's.

Walmart : AI Is the Real Deal

The Weekly Five
The Northern Trust Institute
Aug. 16: We had observed a relatively sharp drawdown in some of the most widely held and best-performing stocks coming into this week—the “Magnificent Seven” stocks associated with the boom in investments in artificial intelligence. One of the catalysts that many have cited as a driving force behind the selling was a growing skepticism about how end users of AI could actually monetize the impacts of the technology and when the benefits would start to accrue to corporate results.

During Walmart’s quarterly conference call this week, management provided a real-life and very contemporary example of how the company is harnessing the financial benefits of AI. Walmart leverages AI in its supply-chain management systems and to improve its product catalog. Leveraging generative AI allows Walmart to help customers find what they are looking for and helps the company manage inventory (e.g., where to store it, and what to store).....

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