Walmart to join Nasdaq 100 on January 20 as AstraZeneca exits

A screen displays the Walmart logo during the opening bell ceremony at the Nasdaq Market to celebrate the company’s listing transfer, in New York City on December 9, 2025. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

• Walmart to join Nasdaq 100 Index, replacing AstraZeneca on January 20
• Walmart's inclusion may prompt nearly $19 billion in index fund inflows
• Walmart's market value nears $1 trillion after strong sales and digital growth

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Walmart Inc. will join the Nasdaq 100 Index, replacing AstraZeneca Plc, Nasdaq Global Indexes said Friday.

The changes will take effect before the market opens on January 20. US markets will be closed on January 19 for a holiday.

Walmart’s addition follows its move last year to shift its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq, the largest exchange transfer on record.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. analysts estimated in December that Walmart’s inclusion could prompt nearly $19 billion of inflows as index-tracking funds and exchange-traded products rebalance their holdings.

The retailer was widely expected to enter the benchmark during the index provider’s annual December reconstitution, but the timing of the listing switch caused it to miss the cutoff used to compile market data, analysts said.

Read about 2025’s reconstitution: Seagate, Alnylam Among Six Companies Set to Join Nasdaq 100

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company has seen its market value climb to nearly $1 trillion after steady sales growth and share gains, as consumers gravitated toward lower-priced essentials. Walmart has also expanded its digital operations, with its US e-commerce business expected to reach profitability this year, alongside growth in advertising, marketplace and membership revenue.

The retailer has recently increased its use of artificial intelligence across internal operations such as scheduling and supply-chain management, and has begun rolling out AI-powered tools for shoppers in partnership with OpenAI.

Walmart shares have gained 146% on a total return basis in the past three years while AstraZeneca shares rose 42%.

AstraZeneca’s removal extends the stock’s retreat from its pandemic-era peak, when its Covid-19 vaccine propelled the drugmaker into the index. Shares have since lagged as vaccine-related revenue faded and investor attention shifted toward obesity treatments developed by rivals.

The Nasdaq 100 tracks the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange and underpins hundreds of billions of dollars in investment products. More than $600 billion in assets tracked the index through ETFs as of December 2025, according to Nasdaq, including the $408 billion Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1.

The Nasdaq 100 rose about 21% on a total-return basis in 2025, compared with gains of 18% for the S&P 500 and 16% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.