Reаd the fоllоwing excerpt frоm the аrticle "Wаlmart Faces Challenges in 2025: U.S. Tariffs Threaten Company's Successful Low-Price Model." Toronto Star, 21 Feb., 2025. eLibrary, https://ezproxy.bellevuecollege.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/walmart-faces-challenges-2025/docview/3168997159/se-2?accountid=35840 For your convenience, the entire article is reproduced below this prompt. Write a 450-600 essay addressing the following prompt(s) Based on the information in the article, examine low discount/low cost retail supercenter market. What are the events that are affecting this market and how do these event affect future prices and sales of corporations like Walmart In your essay, you will want to include consumers' and producers' decisions, market structures, elasticity, variable and fixed costs, trade and barriers to entry "Walmart delivered another year of strong sales and profits with its competitive prices an increasingly strong magnet for inflation-weary shoppers, but 2025 appears to come with new challenges in an uncertain economic landscape. The outlook for 2025 is as much as 27 cents below analyst projections for per-share earnings and for the quarter, while Walmart's expectations are as much as seven cents below Wall Street projections. Its sales outlook is also disappointing, potentially a reflection of rising challenges ahead as consumers pull back on spending and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on China and other countries threaten the low-price model that is the core of Walmart's success. Walmart has built in hedges against some tariff threats. Groceries account for roughly 60 per cent of its U.S. business, according to the company's most recent annual report, meaning a huge chunk of sales are not reliant on goods made in China or elsewhere. Walmart is among the first major U.S. retailers to report quarterly financial results and numbers could provide a hint as to the mood of the American shopper, particularly amid new trade barriers that according to most economists threaten to reignite inflation. Consumers over the past year have increasingly focused more on necessities rather than TVs, furniture or appliances. They've become much more discerning about big-ticket purchases because of higher costs for credit as well as for groceries. "We have momentum driven by our low prices, a growing assortment, and an eCommerce business driven by faster delivery times," said CEO Doug McMillon. "We're gaining market share, our top line is healthy, and we're in great shape with inventory." Still, Walmart could be faced with challenges with the new tariffs carrying more economic risks than during Trump's first term. If Americans are hit by a new wave of price increases, economists say, and with 70 per cent of the U.S. economy driven by consumers, a broad pullback in spending would have ramifications beyond Walmart's sales. Walmart reported earnings of $5.25 billion (U.S.), or 65 cents per share, in the quarter ended Jan. 31. That compares with $5.49 billion, or 68 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share for the most recent quarter was 66 cents. Sales rose 4.1 per cent to $180.55 billion in the quarter. Analysts expected 65 cents per share on sales of $180.07 billion in the fourth quarter, according to FactSet. Global e-commerce sales rose 16 per cent in the latest quarter, notably slower than the 27 per cent increase in the third quarter. The Associated Press CREDIT: Anne D'innocenzio The Associated Press Word count: 429 Copyright 2025 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All Rights Reserved