Price increases due to tariffs are just weeks away. Despite that warning from Walmart on Thursday, shares of the retail giant and two others stand the best chance to still thrive in this environment. We own both of them: Costco and Amazon . “There are going to be [price] hikes. The question is who can eat them, who can afford it — and then most importantly, who has the scale to say to the suppliers, ‘We’re not paying that price,'” Jim Cramer said during Thursday’s Morning Meeting for Investing Club members. “He who has the biggest balance sheet in retail wins, and Walmart and Costco have the biggest balance sheets,” along with Amazon. The reality of tariffs hit home in a big way when Walmart CFO John David Rainey told CNBC that even temporarily paused China duties at 30% are “still too high” for any retailer or supplier to shoulder. “I’m concerned that the consumer is going to start seeing higher prices. You’ll begin to see that, likely towards the tail end of this month, and then certainly much more in June,” he said, shortly after Walmart reported mixed fiscal 2026 first quarter and reiterated full-year guidance. Walmart is known for its “Everyday Low Prices” strategy that keeps shoppers coming back during all kinds of economic ups and downs. Through its size, buying power with suppliers, and private label brands, Walmart can afford to keep prices lower by accepting tighter profit margins to sell incredibly high volumes of merchandise. It’s been a tried-and-true formula for success — that Costco and Amazon use as well. That’s why Walmart investors grew concerned when management said tariffs could lead to “downside risk” to profits. “We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on the post-earnings conference call. WMT COST,AMZN YTD mountain YTD performance Shares of Walmart, down as much as 5% right after the open, were able to climb steadily through the session, cutting losses to roughly 1%. Weakness in Amazon shares for a second straight day came after a five-session winning streak . Costco stock jumped more than 1.5% as investors were, perhaps, coming around to Jim’s idea that these three retailers are best positioned to mitigate the costs of tariffs and keep prices as low as possible to deliver the value its customers come to expect. “It’s a big mistake to be afraid because you have to put this all relative versus the competition,” Jim said on “Squawk on the Street” on Thursday, while Walmart was near its worst levels of the day. “We are going to be in a position where the only ones that will be able to have scale will be Amazon, Costco, and Walmart.” Like Walmart, Costco will surely face higher costs from tariffs. But Jim thinks they should be pretty manageable. Costco’s U.S. sales are about one-third imports, with…
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