Walmart Says Ozempic Customers Spend More Money Overall

• Walmart’s US CEO recently spoke about the impact of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic on sales.
• An analyst note from Morgan Stanley aims to clarify Walmart’s comments.
• Walmart told analysts that the small group of known customers who take these drugs spend more overall.

Walmart is trying to clarify the real impact of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy on its bottom line.

A Morgan Stanley analyst note released Tuesday included new information regarding Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner’s comments last week about the impact of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs on spending behavior.

“We’re definitely seeing a slight change in the total population, we’re seeing a slight decline in the overall basket,” Furner said in an interview with Bloomberg. “Just fewer units, a few fewer calories.”

The comments gave rise to dozens of press articles. Shares of Walmart and other snack makers fell on the news.

But in speaking to analysts at Morgan Stanley, Walmart clarified “two potential misconceptions,” the analysts wrote.

The group of customers taking the drug that Walmart can track is small, analysts note. But, within this group, Walmart observed that these customers spent slightly less on food year over year.

But “their overall spending is higher, even excluding the cost of the drug,” the analysts wrote based on conversations with Walmart. The increase in spending comes from categories such as lifestyle, fitness and “medications to relieve drug side effects.” These weight loss drugs have known side effects such as nausea and diarrhea.

Overall, changes in GLP-1 spending don’t shake things up for Walmart’s overall business, the authors write. Walmart did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment before publication.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the drugs won’t pose a long-term hurdle for Walmart or other retailers. But the reports may have missed “the broader point that customer engagement with Walmart appears to increase after taking GLP-1 drugs,” the analysts wrote.

Meanwhile, Walmart’s US CEO hasn’t been the only one to discuss Ozempic and fuel frenzied attention around the impacts these drugs could have on companies that sell food to consumers. The trendy drugs were mentioned by the CEO of Kellanova, maker of Cheez-It, Pringles and Rice Krispies Treats, as well as the CEO of Smucker. Both executives said they were monitoring the research.

And much like AI has become the buzzword in tech earnings calls this year, Alphasense data showed that mentions of “Ozempic” in consumer product earnings calls, filings Business and related news has increased by 228% in the last 90 days. Mentions of “GLP-1” increased by 99%, Insider previously reported.