On Friday, Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) agreed to pay $50 million to settle a Department of Justice lawsuit alleging its pharmacies unlawfully filled opioid prescriptions, fueling the national opioid epidemic.
Settlement Far Below Initial Exposure
The sum is a fraction of the billions in civil penalties Walmart faced when the suit was filed in December 2020. Walmart admitted no wrongdoing and called the payout “immaterial” in a regulatory filing.
Federal prosecutors alleged Walmart violated the Controlled Substances Act since 2013 by ignoring “red flags” on suspicious prescriptions, with some compliance staff reportedly aware certain prescribers ran “pill mills.”
Opioids such as oxycodone and hydrocodone are prescription medications used to treat pain. However, their misuse and overprescription have contributed to widespread addiction and overdose deaths across the U.S.
The Arkansas-based retailer posted $11.79 billion in net income for the six months ended July 31.
Walmart reported its second-quarter results last week, with revenue coming in at $187.94 billion, slightly above the expected $186.71 billion. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.81, beating the analyst estimate of $0.74 by 9.46%.
Broader Industry Fallout Continues
Federal and state authorities have pursued opioid-related cases throughout the supply chain, from manufacturer Purdue Pharma to distributor Cencora Inc. (NYSE:COR) and retail pharmacy operators such as CVS Health Corp. (NYSE:CVS) and Walgreens, which reached their own larger settlements.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 806,000 people in the U.S. died from opioid-involved overdoses between 1999 and 2023.
In 2024, the CDC recorded 54,045 additional opioid-involved overdose deaths. Including the CDC’s provisional estimate of 44,564 opioid-involved overdose deaths for 2025, the cumulative number of opioid-involved overdose deaths since 1999 is approximately 905,000.
Trading Metrics
Walmart has a market capitalization of $820.4 billion, a 52-week high of $135.16 and a 52-week low of $95.80.
The stock has risen 7.26% over the past 12 months but is down 8.58% year to date.
Price Action: WMT closed the regular session on Friday at $103.09, up 0.45%, according to Benzinga Pro data.
With a strong Growth score of 92.74, Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that Walmart stock has a negative price trend across all time frames.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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