Walmart Partners With Goldman To Offer Marketplace Sellers Credit

Retail giant Walmart has teamed up with Goldman Sachs (GS) to offer eligible Walmart Marketplace sellers access to capital.

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Walmart (WMT) Marketplace sellers will be offered lines of credit by Marcus, Goldman Sachs’ online consumer banking unit. Initially, approved small and medium businesses on Walmart Marketplace will have access to lines of credit from Marcus between $10,000 – $75,000.

Marcus plans to substantially increase the maximum line amount available in the future. Moreover, creditworthy businesses will qualify for the lowest rates.

Jeff Clementz, Vice President, Walmart Marketplace stated “Lines of credit offer businesses the flexibility to access money when they need, which could help them move fast and meet surging customer demand. It could also help fund innovation as we’re all working to adapt to constantly changing customer behavior and preferences.”

E-commerce growth has become a key growth driver for Walmart. In the fiscal second quarter ended July 31, Walmart’s US e-commerce sales rose an impressive 97% Y/Y and Marketplace generated triple-digit growth.

Today, Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parikh raised Walmart’s price target to $152 from $145 and reiterated a Buy rating saying “We believe WMT shares are still positioned for outperformance, but see more of a grind higher from here. Ongoing benefits from WMT’s e-commerce investments, tailwinds from continued increases in at-home food consumption, and retailer liquidations suggest the potential for market share gains to persist.”

“In addition, we look favorably upon the strong underlying cash generation, and the potential for more aggressive return of capital to shareholders in coming years.” (See WMT stock analysis on TipRanks)

The Street is also bullish about Walmart and its Strong Buy consensus is based on 21 Buys, 7 Holds and no Sell rating. The stock has advanced 15.3% so far in 2020 and the average analyst price target of $148.20 indicates that it could rise 8% in the months ahead.