Walmart Joins Nasdaq 100 on January 20, Replacing AstraZeneca—What It Means for Market Dynamics

Retail giant Walmart storms into the Nasdaq 100 index on January 20, booting pharmaceutical heavyweight AstraZeneca from its prestigious spot. The move signals a seismic shift in market leadership—from healthcare to consumer staples—as investors chase stability in volatile times.

The Index Shake-Up

Nasdaq doesn't make these swaps lightly. Replacing a global pharma leader with a brick-and-mortar retail behemoth tells you everything about where institutional money is flowing. It's a defensive pivot, plain and simple—when uncertainty looms, bet on toilet paper and groceries over patent portfolios.

Why Walmart Wins

Walmart's digital transformation and e-commerce surge finally caught the index committee's eye. Their logistics network is now a tech infrastructure play, and their stock's resilience during recent market dips made them an obvious candidate for the Nasdaq 100's coveted roster. AstraZeneca's exit? Just collateral damage in the index rebalancing game.

The Bigger Picture

This isn't just a stock swap—it's a narrative shift. Traditional retail, once left for dead by tech evangelists, is back and wearing a Nasdaq badge. Meanwhile, the finance world gets another reminder that today's hot sector can be tomorrow's index footnote. It's almost enough to make you cynical about the whole passive investing craze—almost.

Expected investment surge

Many people expected Walmart to get added during the yearly December review, but the timing didn’t work out. The company’s listing switch happened too late to make the deadline for gathering market information, according to industry experts.

The Arkansas-based retailer, headquartered in Bentonville, now has a market worth close to $1 trillion. Sales have kept growing steadily and the company keeps winning more customers who want cheaper basic goods. Online sales in the United States should turn profitable this year, while money from ads, its marketplace, and membership fees keeps rising.

The company has started using artificial intelligence more throughout its work, handling things like employee schedules and managing its supply chain. Shoppers can now use AI tools that Walmart built together with OpenAI.

Looking at stock gains over three years, Walmart shares jumped 146% when including returns, while AstraZeneca only went up 42%.

AstraZeneca’s exit marks another setback for the drugmaker since its best days during the pandemic. The company got into the index thanks to strong sales of its Covid-19 vaccine. But those numbers dropped off, and investors started paying more attention to weight-loss drugs from competing companies instead.

The Nasdaq 100 follows the hundred biggest companies on Nasdaq that aren’t in finance. Hundreds of billions of dollars in investment products depend on it. By December 2025, more than $600 billion in assets followed the index through ETFs. The Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 alone holds $408 billion, Nasdaq reported.

Last year, the Nasdaq 100 gained about 21% with returns included, beating the S&P 500’s 18% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 16%.

Walmart’s leadership transition

Meanwhile, Walmart’s Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon plans to retire in February after running the company for more than ten years and pushing it into online business. John Furner, who runs U.S. operations, will take his place. Industry watchers long expected this succession.

Furner, age 51, takes charge as Walmart deals with rapid AI changes, uncertain economic conditions, and workforce shifts worldwide. The company recently partnered with OpenAI so customers can buy products directly through ChatGPT. Walmart says automation helps keep its global workforce at around 2 million people.

“Walmart is closing out its chapter associated with building a well-rounded digital foundation, and is now moving into the escalation and acceleration of AI,” said David Bellinger, an analyst at Mizuho.

McMillon became CEO in 2014 and said he’s worked with Furner for twenty years. He believes Furner’s leadership will push the company forward. Furner is “uniquely capable of leading the company through this next AI-driven transformation,” McMillon stated.

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