Walmart has sold shares in Chinese online retailer JD.com worth around $3.6 billion, ending an eight-year partnership.
Walmart and JD.com entered into a “strategic cooperation” in June 2016, under which the two companies will collaborate on e-commerce – including opening several flagship stores in China. Walmart agreed at the time to buy nearly 145 million newly created Class A common shares of JD.
As part of the agreement, JD.com offered a one-hour delivery service from some Chinese stores on its app and acquired Walmart’s share of the e-commerce marketplace Yihaodian.
JD.com also entered into an eight-year non-compete agreement with Walmart, which, according to The Reg Mathematics is now finished.
According to the Chinese online retailer’s annual report (PDF), Walmart held around 9.4 percent of JD.com shares as of March 31, 2024.
An SEC filing (PDF) by Walmart on Monday revealed that the number of shares the retail giant owns is now zero.
The price at which Walmart sold the shares was not disclosed. Reuters estimates that 144.5 million shares were sold for $3.7 billion, and Bloomberg estimates $3.6 billion. That would put the stock price at $24.95 a share – an 11 percent discount from Tuesday’s closing price.
Walmart told some media outlets that the sale would allow the company to focus on its Walmart and Sam’s Club businesses in China and use the capital previously tied up in JD.com for other priorities.
The Register has asked the Sam Walton empire to confirm these views.
“In China, strong membership trends and Sam’s Club continue to drive double-digit sales growth, and about half of our sales there are digital,” Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon said in the retail giant’s second-quarter 2025 earnings call (PDF).
While the conference call discussed Walmart’s operations and strategy in China, there was no mention of JD.com, which has seen stagnant growth amid competition from newer Chinese e-commerce players.
The lack of mention of JD.com contrasts with the discussion of Indian online retailer Flipkart, which is 85 percent owned by Walmart and has been praised for both its double-digit growth and its next-day delivery in over 200 cities.
It’s been a rough week for Chinese e-retailers and competitors of JD.com. On Monday, the dispute between two of the fast-fashion stars escalated when Shein filed a lawsuit against Temu alleging product counterfeiting, theft of trade secrets, infringement of intellectual property rights and fraud.
In response, Temu took an I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I approach and said The Register Shein fabricated accusations against others “for the very wrongdoing they are repeatedly accused of.” ®
