Walmart CEO is retiring in January, handing the reins to the head of the retailer’s US division, John Furner, on February 1, the company said Friday.
McMillon has served as CEO since 2014 and has been with the company for more than 40 years.
“I’ve worked with John for more than 20 years. His love for our associates and this company runs deep,” McMillon said in a statement. He said Furner is “uniquely capable of leading the company through this next AI-driven transformation,” and described him as “a merchant, an operator, an innovator, and a builder.”
Shares of Walmart stock slid following the announcement, with the price down roughly 2% in premarket trading.
McMillon’s retirement “will send a small shockwave through Walmart,” GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders said in a note. “Fortunately for Walmart, it has a strong leader waiting in the wings in the shape of John Furner.”
The 51-year-old Furner started with Walmart more than 30 years ago as a part-time hourly associate in the garden center, and became CEO of the company’s US division in 2019. He previously served as CEO of the corporation’s warehouse store chain, Sam’s Club.
During Furner’s tenure, the brick-and-mortar retailer has undergone a significant transformation to become an e-commerce powerhouse powered by robotics and AI.
The US division remains the global company’s largest, with over 4,600 locations and more than a million employees.
Furner has big shoes to fill in heading up the whole organization after McMillon’s decade-plus in the job.
Under McMillon’s leadership, Walmart has grown both top-line sales and profits. Its stock price is up 400% over the last decade. McMillon also led significant investments in both technology and labor, which are paying off for the company.
“We view Mr. McMillon’s run as one of the most consequential in company history, outside of founder Sam Walton,” Mizuho analyst David Bellinger said in a note.
Walmart said McMillon plans to remain on the company’s board until June and stay as an advisor to Furner until the end of the next fiscal year. It plans to name Furner’s successor before February.
