Business

Year-end Planning

After a challenging year for investors, there’s still time to save money with year-end tax strategies.
Advisors share real-life examples of a Roth IRA conversion, tax gain harvesting and charitable giving for retirees.

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Weigh Roth IRA conversions

With the S&P 500 Index down more than 20% in 2022, many investors are eyeing Roth individual retirement account conversions, which transfer pre-tax IRA funds to a Roth IRA for future tax-free growth. The trade-off is paying an upfront tax bill. 
However, lower account balances may provide two opportunities: the chance to buy more shares for the same dollar amount and possible tax savings, depending on how much you transfer. And the tax savings may be compounded for investors during lower earning years, experts say. 

We regularly discuss Roth conversions for retired clients who haven’t started taking Social Security yet because their incomes are temporarily low.

Matt Stephens
Financial Advisor at AdvicePoint

“We regularly discuss Roth conversions for retired clients who haven’t started taking Social Security yet because their incomes are temporarily low,” said Matt Stephens, a certified financial planner with AdvicePoint in Wilmington, North Carolina. “Job changes can also provide a unique Roth conversion opportunity.”
One of his clients lost her job at the end of 2021 and didn’t start another until April, making her 2022 income much lower than usual, and her portfolio is down. “By doing a Roth conversion this year, she’ll be able to turn a hard situation into massive tax savings,” he said. 

Consider ‘tax-gain harvesting’

When the stock market is down, investors also consider “tax-loss harvesting,” or selling losing positions to offset profits. But depending on your taxable income, you may also benefit from a lesser-known move known as “tax gain harvesting.”
Here’s how it works: If your taxable income is below $41,675 for single filers or $83,350 for married couples filing together in 2022, you’ll fall into the 0% capital gains bracket, meaning you may skirt taxes when selling profitable assets.   

For some investors, it’s a chance to take gains or diversify their taxable portfolio without triggering a bill, explained Edward Jastrem, a CFP and director of financial planning at Heritage Financial Services in Westwood, Massachusetts.
With a retired client under the income thresholds, he was able to reduce their large position of a single stock, meeting their goals of “providing liquidity and reducing concentrated risk,” he said.  

Assess your charitable giving strategy

Rather than counting as an itemized deduction, QCDs may reduce adjusted gross income and can satisfy yearly required minimum distributions.  
Recently, he met with a couple paying more than $30,000 in required minimum distributions who were separately donating money to their church, rather than transferring tax-free funds from their IRA.
“They were claiming thousands more in taxable income then necessary,” Wren said. 
If you’re age 70½ or older, you may use QCDs to donate up to $100,000 per year. And transfers at age 72 or older may count as required minimum distributions. “Clients over 70½ really need to pay close attention to their personal circumstances,” Wren added.  More

Peloton will put bikes in all 5,400 Hilton-branded hotels in the U.S., the company announced Monday.
The partnership with Hilton includes all 18 of the hospitality giant’s hotel subsidiaries, including Hampton Inn and Doubletree.
It’s the latest in a broad effort to expand the consumer base under CEO Barry McCarthy.

Jen Van Santvoord rides her Peloton exercise bike at her home on April 07, 2020 in San Anselmo, California.
Ezra Shaw | Getty Images

Peloton will put bikes in all 5,400 Hilton-branded hotels in the United States as part of a partnership announced Monday, as the bike maker pushes to expand its reach.
The partnership will provide at least one bike to each hotel, including locations of the 18 hospitality subsidiaries that Hilton owns, such as Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites and Doubletree. Hilton Honors members will also receive a 90-day free trial of the Peloton app.

Hilton hotels that already have Peloton bikes will have the option to add another. The company says that rollout will begin in the coming weeks, with the majority of locations equipped by the end of the year.
The partnership builds on an existing hotel footprint for Peloton, which says hotel guests have completed 1.6 million Peloton rides so far in 2022.
“My first experience with Peloton was during a hotel stay while on vacation, and I was immediately hooked,” said Betsy Webb, the global vice president of Peloton’s commercial branch. “We love brands that prioritize their customers’ wellness and could not be more excited to bring Peloton to Hilton guests nationwide wherever they are on their fitness journey.”
Peloton, which began as an exclusive, direct-to-consumer brand, has shifted gears to a broader mass-market approach. Last week, the company announced that its bikes, treadmills and other hardware would be sold in Dick’s Sporting Goods locations. Peloton previously launched nationwide bike rentals, certified preowned bikes and a sales partnership with Amazon.
It’s all part of a larger turnaround effort by CEO Barry McCarthy, who took the helm from co-founder John Foley in February. The company announced significant changes and layoffs during the transition of power, as it grappled with the end of pandemic-era demand.

A representative from Peloton called this year “transformative” for the company and indicated that more changes to the company’s strategy are to come.
Foley left his role as executive chair in mid-September alongside fellow co-founder and Chief Legal Officer Hisao Kushi and the company’s first international hire, Chief Commercial Officer Kevin Cornils. Last week, Peloton’s head of marketing Dara Treseder departed the company for an executive position at Autodesk.
Correction: Peloton will put bikes in all 5,400 Hilton-branded hotels in the U.S. An earlier version misstated the status of the hotels.

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Kim Kardashian agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle SEC charges for failing to disclose a payment she received for touting a crypto asset on Instagram.
She also agreed not to promo crypto assets for three years, and will cooperate with an ongoing investigation.
Kardashian had already gotten heat from regulators and investors over the June 2021 post.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian launched a private equity fund, Skky Partners, which she co-founded with Jay Sammons, a former partner at the investment firm Carlyle Group.
Photo by James Devaney/GC Images via Getty Images

Kim Kardashian’s crypto misadventure has landed her in hot water with federal regulators.
The reality TV superstar and influencer has settled Securities and Exchange Commission charges that she failed to disclose a payment she received for touting a crypto asset on her Instagram feed, the agency announced Monday morning.

“This case is a reminder that, when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors,” Gary Gensler, chairman of the SEC, said in a news release.
Kardashian, who is reportedly worth $1.8 billion, agreed to pay $1.26 million to settle the charges over a promotion on Meta’s Instagram for EthereumMax’s crypto asset, the SEC said. She will also cooperate with an ongoing investigation, and has agreed to not promote crypto securities for three years, the regulator added.
However, Kardashian, who has built a media and lifestyle empire, neither admitted to nor denied the regulator’s findings, the SEC said.
In a statement, a lawyer for Kardashian said she is pleased to have resolved the matter.
“Kardashian fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter. She wanted to get this matter behind her to avoid a protracted dispute. The agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do that so that she can move forward with her many different business pursuits,” the statement said.

Kardashian has already felt regulatory heat over her EthereumMax promo, which she posted on Instagram in June of last year. She started the post by asking her millions of followers, “ARE YOU INTO CRYPTO??? THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE BUT SHARING WHAT MY FRIENDS JUST TOLD ME ABOUT THE ETHEREUM MAX TOKEN.”
Investors sued her, former NBA star Paul Pierce and superstar boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. earlier this year over their promos for EthereumMax, accusing them of artificially inflating the value of the asset.
The SEC on Monday said Kardashian failed to report that she was paid $250,000 to publish a post about EMAX tokens, a crypto asset offered by EthereumMax. The post, which featured the hashtag “#ad,” included a link to the EthereumMax website, which gives users instructions about how to buy the tokens, the regulator added.
Her failure to disclose the payment was a violation of federal securities laws, the SEC said. She agreed to pay $260,000, which includes the payment she received, plus interest, in addition to the $1 million penalty, the agency added.
“Congress passed a law many decades ago called the Securities Act, and it was to protect the public,” Gensler told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday morning.  “Part of that law said that if you tout a stock you have to disclose if you’re getting paid.”
– CNBC’s Jack Stebbins contributed to this report.

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A modern residence just outside of Denver listed Monday for $28,888,888, which makes it the most expensive home for sale in the metro area.
Much of the facade is clad in sustainably sourced Radiata Pine, torched using a traditional Asian technique that turns the wood charcoal black.
The estate, which sits in the affluent Cherry Hills Village neighborhood about 11 miles from downtown Denver, spans a total of 16,400 square feet.

A multi-tiered sundeck connects the main house on the right to a poolside structure on the left both overlook a 75-foot lap pool.
Nate Polta

A modern residence just outside of Denver listed Monday for $28,888,888, which makes it the most expensive home for sale in the metro area. 
According to co-listing agent Jared Blank, the string of eights in the asking price, a lucky number in Japanese culture that symbolizes growing prosperous, pays homage to the traditional Asian technique used to torch the home’s exterior to turn it charcoal black.

“We believe the inclusion of eights will help market the home to exude a symbol of prosperity,” said Blank, who is a managing partner at The Agency Denver.

Much of the facade is clad in sustainably sourced Radiata Pine, which is naturally a light-colored wood. According to a representative of Alvarez Morris Architectural Studio, the blackened finish was achieved by exposing the wood to a hot flame until it charred, leaving behind a finish that’s crackled and burnt. In other words, if the residence were a Denver steak, it would be served well-done.

A piece of wood at Delta Millworks is burned with a torch to give it a distinctive charred finish.
Robert Gomez

A close-up look at the unique flame-charred wood exterior of the $28,888,888 residence.
Nate Polta

The charring process, done domestically by Delta Millwork in Austin, Texas, is reminiscent of traditional Japanese architectural technique called Shou Sugi Ban that uses a similar charring process to preserve wood in a thin layer of carbon. Much like a stain or sealant, the carbon protects the wood from rot, decay and insects.

The main residence’s deep black facade at dusk.
Nate Polta

The estate, which sits in the affluent Cherry Hills Village neighborhood about 11 miles from downtown Denver, spans a total of about 16,400 square feet. If it sells for anywhere near its asking price, it will break a local record for the region. 
According to Blank, in the 1950s a coalition of residents in the area worked to prevent encroaching commercialization from disrupting the charm and open space of the pastoral-like village.

“Its beauty remains, and now it is one of Denver’s most affluent neighborhoods where many of Colorado’s wealthiest and famous call home,” said Blank.

Dusk view of the main house looking into the glass-encased great room.
Nate Polta

According to public records, the area’s highest-priced sale was achieved in April when Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, singer and songwriter Ciara, reportedly paid $25 million for a 13,000-square-foot residence in the Cherry Hills Village.
The region’s second-highest sale for a detached single-family home was recorded in 2021 at $15.7 million for the residence next door to Wilson’s home. That sale also had a connection to the city’s NFL team: The home’s former owner was reportedly Mike Shanahan who coached the Broncos for 14 seasons.
“Denver continues to see record-breaking pricing, and there is a huge demand for a new caliber of residential product,” said co-listing agent Kacey Bingham, also a managing partner at The Agency Denver.

The main home’s great room includes 22 ft tall ceilings, polished concrete floors and a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass that opens to a view of the Rocky Mountains.
Nate Polta

The local trend in Denver sales prices may bode well for the new $28.9 million listing. According to the Denver Metro Realtors Association’s September report, the average sale price of a detached single-family home in the area was up about 8% in August over last year, with listings averaging just 20 days on the market.

The modern home’s facade blends charred-wood, concrete and glass.
Nate Polta

Blank and Bingham are bringing the highest-priced home in the Denver area to market while inflation’s on the rise and a recession looms, but they’re not sweating it. They believe their high-net-worth clientele turn to real estate as a hedge against such headwinds.
“Properties like this will continue to trade, especially as investors continue to seek out real estate as a preferred investment during a softening market,” Bingham said.

Here’s a look around the priciest home for sale in Denver:

Kitchen and family room.
Nate Polta

The estate at 4001 E Quincy Ave., also known as Clearview Farm, spans nearly 15 acres with a 1.5-acre pond and unobstructed views of the Rocky Mountains. The land is zoned for agricultural and equestrian facilities. 

The main house in the distance is connected by a sundeck to the poolside structure that overlooks a 75-by-12-foot lap pool.
Nate Polta

“The rarity of 15 private acres presents many opportunities to expand the grounds for the equestrian aficionado, a private garden and farm, and more,” Blank told CNBC.

The pool and sundeck offer a view of the estate’s rolling green acreage.
Nate Polta

The residence unfolds over two separate structures including an almost 13,800-square-foot main house with a multitiered sundeck and partially subterranean level that connects to a two-story poolside structure.  

Primary bedroom
Nate Polta

The main house includes five bedrooms and eight bathrooms. The primary suite comes with a pair of dressing rooms and glass doors that lead to a deck with views of the pool and the surrounding estate.

Primary suite balcony view.
Nate Polta

Along with a marble-clad ensuite bath, the sleeping quarters are equipped with an elevator that services all three levels of the home.

The second story spa-like primary bath clad in Carrera marble.
Nate Polta

The residence includes a self-sustaining solar energy system, in-floor heating and Lutron shades.

The view from above the lap pool and sundeck reveals an array of solar panels on the pool house roof.
Nate Polta

Outdoor stone fireplace and patio.
Nate Polta

There’s indoor parking for six cars across two garages, and the driveway is equipped with a snowmelt system.

One of the estates two garages.
Nate Polta

Down the hill from the main residence is a 2,600-square-foot guest house, clad in the same distinctive charred-wood siding, with its own sundeck and parking court.

Exterior of guest house and sundeck.
Nate Polta

Inside the two-story structure are two more bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen and a home office.

The guest home’s living area includes double height ceilings adjacent to a modern designer kitchen.
Nate Polta

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Disney executive Kareem Daniel is on McDonald’s board, effective Oct. 1.
His appointment is part of a broader shakeup of the fast-food giant’s board this year.
Daniel is considered Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s right-hand man.

Kareem Daniel
Source: Business Wire

Disney’s Kareem Daniel is the fourth new director to join McDonald’s board this year.
The fast-food giant announced Monday that the more than 15-year Disney veteran is the 15th member of its board, effective Oct. 1.

Daniel currently leads Disney’s media and entertainment distribution group, overseeing the growth of its streaming services, TV channels and theatrical film distribution. He’s considered Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s right-hand man.
Previously, Daniel held leadership roles on the company’s corporate strategy, Walt Disney Imagineering and consumer products, games, and publishing teams. He’s a native of Chicago, where McDonald’s is headquartered.
In August, McDonald’s said longtime director Sheila Penrose was retiring, a decision that came after billionaire investor Carl Icahn tried to supplant her through a proxy fight. The company simultaneously announced the appointment of three new board members, who assumed their seats on Saturday.
CNBC’s Alex Sherman contributed to this report.

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Search and rescue efforts are underway in Florida after a devastating Category 4 hurricane made landfall Wednesday.
There is “significant damage” along Florida’s west coast and many homes in central parts of the state are still underwater, FEMA director Deanne Criswell told ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.

An aerial picture taken on September 30, 2022 shows the only access to the Matlacha neighborhood destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida.
Ricardo Arduengo | AFP | Getty Images

Search and rescue efforts are underway in Florida after a devastating Category 4 hurricane made landfall Wednesday.
At least 77 people have been confirmed dead and more than 860,000 people are still without power, according to NBC News. There is “significant damage” along Florida’s west coast and many homes in central parts of the state are still underwater, FEMA director Deanne Criswell told ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.

She said the road to recovery is going to be long.
“We’re still actively in the search and rescue phase, trying to make sure that we are accounting for everybody that was in the storm’s path, and that we go through every home to make sure that we don’t leave anybody behind,” she said.
Criswell said Hurricane Ian was “catastrophic,” and officials knew it would have a big impact on Florida residents. A large number of federal and state search and rescue resources were staged and ready to go out “immediately” after the storm, she said.
“They were out before daybreak on Thursday,” Criswell said. “They are still there today.”
Sen. Rick Scott of Florida echoed that sentiment while addressing concerns over rebuilding mobile home parks in Florida and the need for potentially stricter building codes. He said those decisions should be decided by each county.

“You don’t ever want these things to happen again,” he said during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “I think every county is going to have to look at that and say, ‘Does that make sense to their county.”‘
Commenting on overall recovery efforts, Scott addressed concerns in the property insurance market, noting that insurance fraud is hurting some companies in Florida or discouraging others from conducting business in the state.
“You have to have stricter building codes,” he said. “You have to make sure that you learn from every storm and on top of that you have to make sure there’s no fraud.”
President Joe Biden will visit Florida on Wednesday to meet with officials and assess storm damage, the White House announced Saturday.
He will also visit Puerto Rico as it works to recover from Hurricane Fiona, which hit the island as a Category 1 storm in September.
“We’ll do everything we can to get these communities back on their feet,” Biden said on Twitter.

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Despite criticism, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda last week doubled down on his strategy to continue investing in a range of electrified vehicles instead of going all-in on all-electric cars and trucks.
Toyoda believes adoption of EVs will be slower than many think and that gas-banning regulations will be “difficult” to accomplish.
He also talked about Toyota’s franchised dealership model and the company last year outselling General Motors in the U.S

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda speaks during a small media roundtable on Sept. 29, 2022 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS — Toyota Motor CEO Akio Toyoda last week simply stated what he would like his legacy to be: “I love cars.”
Just how the 66-year-old racer, car enthusiast and company scion will be remembered regarding his approach to all-electric vehicles compared to gas-powered performance cars, like the Supra, or hybrids, like the once-groundbreaking Prius, will play out in the years to come.

Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, plans to invest $70 billion in electrified vehicles over the next nine years. Half of that will be for all-electric battery ones. While it’s a substantial investment in EVs, it’s smaller than some competitors’ plans, and not as much as some would like given Toyota’s global footprint.
Despite criticism from some investors and environmental groups, Toyoda this past week doubled down on his strategy to continue investing in a range of electrified vehicles as opposed to competitors such as Volkswagen and General Motors, which have said they are going all-in on all-electric vehicles.
The plans could arguably cement Toyoda’s “I love cars” legacy or tarnish it, depending on how quickly drivers adopt electric vehicles.
“For me, playing to win also means doing things differently. Doing things that others may question, but that we believe will put us in the winner’s circle the longest,” he said Wednesday during Toyota’s annual dealer meeting in Las Vegas, which, by the way, was called “Playing to Win.”

Akio Toyoda with new Toyota Supra
Paul Eisenstein | CNBC

Toyoda, who described Toyota as a large department store, said the company’s goal “remains the same, pleasing the widest possible range of customers with the widest possible range of powertrains.” Those powertrains will include hybrids and plug-in hybrids like the Prius, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles like the Mirai and 15 all-electric battery models by 2025.

Aside from the EV plans, Toyoda discussed several other aspects of the company’s business last week during the dealer meeting and a small roundtable with U.S. media.

EV regulations and materials

Toyoda reiterated that he does not believe all-electric vehicles will be adopted as quickly as policy regulators and competitors think, due to a variety of reasons. He cited lack of infrastructure, pricing and how customers’ choices vary region to region as examples of possible roadblocks.
He believes it will be “difficult” to fulfill recent regulations that call for banning traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035, like California and New York have said they will adopt.
“Just like the free autonomous cars that we are all supposed to be driving by now, EVs are just going to take longer to become mainstream than media would like us to believe,” Toyoda said in a recording of the remarks to dealers shown to reporters. “In the meantime, you have many options for customers.”
Toyoda also believes there will be “tremendous shortages” of lithium and battery grade nickel in the next five to 10 years, leading to production and supply chain problems.

Carbon neutrality

Toyota’s goal is carbon neutrality by 2050, and not just through all-electric vehicles. Some have questioned the environmental impact of EVs when factoring in raw material mining and overall vehicle production.
Since the Prius launched in 1997, Toyota says it has sold more than 20 million electrified vehicles worldwide. The company says those sales have avoided 160 million tons of CO2 emissions, which is the equivalent to the impact of 5.5 million all-electric battery vehicles.
“Toyota can produce eight 40-mile plug-in hybrids for every one 320-mile battery electric vehicle and save up to eight times the carbon emitted into the atmosphere,” according to prepared remarks for Toyoda provided to media.
Toyota’s hesitancy to launch all-electric vehicles has been criticized by environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, which have the Japanese automaker at the bottom of auto-industry decarbonization rankings the past two years.

Standing pat with dealers

Toyota has no plans to overhaul its franchised dealership network as it invests in electrified vehicles, like some competitors have announced.
“I know you are anxious about the future. I know you are worried about how this business will change. While I can’t predict the future, I can promise you this: You, me, us, this business, this franchised model is not going anywhere. It’s staying just as it is,” he told dealers to resounding applause.
The franchised dealer model has been under pressure after Tesla and newer EV startups began selling directly to consumers than rather through traditional dealers.
GM has offered buyouts to Buick and Cadillac dealers that don’t want to invest in EVs, while Ford last month announced dealers that want to sell EVs must become certified under one of two programs — with investments of $500,000 or $1.2 million. 

‘Happy dance’

As part of lighthearted and comedic comments to dealers, Toyoda said he danced when the automaker outsold GM last year for the first time ever in the U.S.
Despite Toyota executives saying the accomplishment wasn’t sustainable — GM led through the first half of this year — Toyoda still felt it was cause for celebration.
“At Toyota, we like to keep our head down and not talk about our success,” Toyoda said before reenacting the dance on stage. “But when I heard you became No. 1 in the U.S. last year, I actually did a little happy dance in my office.”

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Walmart is leaning into value-oriented perks for subscription service Walmart+ to attract and retain subscribers as it faces a tough economic backdrop.
Walmart+ members tend to be more affluent than the average Walmart shopper, but 1 in 4 members receive government-provided food assistance, said an executive.
Members of the program tend to spend twice as much as nonmembers, he said.

Walmart launched its subscription service, Walmart+ in 2020. It has added perks, including deeper gas discounts and free access to Paramount+.

Americans have tons of subscriptions.
Even with inflation, Walmart thinks they’re willing to pay for one more.

Walmart’s subscription service is Walmart+. The program includes benefits such as free shipping for online purchases, free deliveries from the store and gas discounts. It debuted in September 2020, a time when many shoppers were trying to avoid stores because of Covid-19.
Two years later, the retailer faces a very different backdrop. Walmart’s e-commerce growth rate has slowed. More shoppers have returned to stores and more are skipping discretionary purchases as they spend more on food, rent and other necessities.
Now, Walmart will have to prove its subscription service can grow in a tougher climate.
Chris Cracchiolo, head of Walmart+, said sign-ups and renewals for the service have remained steady in recent months. The service’s members tend to be younger, more tech-savvy and more affluent than the typical Walmart shopper.
Yet he said Walmart+ has attracted many budget-constrained consumers, too: About 1 in 4 Walmart+ members receive government-provided food assistance benefits.

Those demographics could be a promising sign for Walmart+ as it navigates a segment that’s rapidly sorting winners from losers.

Sea of subscriptions

Some subscription services are struggling to retain customers. Netflix and personal styling service Stitch Fix are among the companies that have lost customers. At the same time, club memberships have gained momentum. Costco has continued to draw new members, and Walmart-owned Sam’s Club has reported record-high membership. Sam’s Club does not disclose its membership count.
The company believes Walmart+ is more like a club membership, which shoppers use to stock up on essential items, than a streaming service that subscribers may drop after a favorite show’s season ends and then renew when the series returns.
Cracchiolo, an American Express veteran, said Walmart+ is positioned to grow even in a time when Americans have tighter budgets and weigh the risk of a recession.
The big-box retailer is leaning into value-oriented perks as inflation is at near four-decade highs. Those include steeper gas discounts and new digital coupons, which skew Walmart+ toward the club category. In August, it added Walmart Rewards, a program exclusive to Walmart+ members that allows them to save money on items and apply those savings toward future purchases. Then, in September, members began getting free access to Paramount+.
It already included grocery benefits, such as free home delivery for orders of $35 or more.
Even before inflation pressured wallets, some market research firms pointed to Walmart+’s slow membership gains, especially compared with competitor Amazon Prime.
The membership count for Walmart+ has hovered around 11 million to 11.5 million in the past three quarters, according to estimates by market researcher Consumer Intelligence Research Partners based on quarterly consumer surveys and industry research. That translates to about 25% of Walmart’s online shoppers.
Amazon Prime, which debuted in 2005, counts an estimated 168 million members in the U.S. as of June 30, according to CIRP. Roughly 70% of its online shoppers are members, according to estimates by the firm.
Walmart has not disclosed a subscriber count. However, its leaders said on a recent earnings call that Walmart+ has added paying members to the program every month since the September 2020 launch.

‘This is when we step up’

Walmart may dangle more benefits this holiday season, too — such as early and exclusive access to hot items like video game consoles. The company has not announced its Walmart+ holiday plans, but last year it gave Walmart+ members first dibs on deals.
The retailer has momentum in broadening its customer base: Walmart’s discounter reputation has drawn higher-income shoppers in recent months. About three-quarters of Walmart’s grocery market share gains came from customers with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more in the quarter ended July 31.
That dynamic will boost Walmart+ membership too, Cracchiolo said.
“This is the time when Walmart shines,” he said. “This is what we do best. When there’s uncertainty, when there’s inflation, when customers are on really, really tight budgets. This is when we step up. And Walmart+ membership is that on steroids. What we’re seeing is more customers actually seeing the need.”
He said busy families are the core demographic for Walmart+ — a profile that fits approximately 50 million households in the U.S. Customers who are part of the program spend about twice as much as nonmembers, he added. Plus, it makes money from the subscription fees. Members pay $12.95 a month or $98 on an annual basis.
Its members fill up bigger baskets, visit its stores and website more frequently and shop across more departments, he said.
“For us, it’s about developing a relationship with a customer where it’s not just a transaction,” he said. “The more we can offer customers that help them in their everyday lives, the more we build that emotional connection with the customer.”

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