Global retailer Walmart, Inc. (WMT) teamed up with Zipline to launch its much-awaited instant delivery service in Pea Ridge, Arkansas marking the first commercial Zipline deliveries in the U.S.
Walmart operates retail and wholesale businesses, and offers an array of merchandise and services through stores and its online platform, including mobile apps. (See Walmart stock charts on TipRanks)
Notably, the announcement comes just two weeks after Walmart launched its autonomous truck delivery system in Northwest Arkansas.
Founded in 2016, Zipline is an American medical product delivery company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It delivers vital shipments via the fastest, most reliable autonomous aircraft delivery service, and has completed more than 200,000 commercial deliveries serving over 20 million people across many countries.
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Details of the Zipline Deliveries
Under the new collaboration agreement, Zipline’s autonomous aircraft will enable customers to benefit from on-demand deliveries of select health and wellness, and consumable items from Walmart in Pea Ridge, Ark.
Customers can place an order on the Zipline app. A Walmart associate will pack the products and hand them over to Zipline staff, who in turn will depart to the customer’s home in an aircraft, drop the package and return back to the platform.
Since last year, Walmart and Zipline have worked together to build a first-of-its-kind, 25-foot platform for takeoff and landing of the aircraft. The platform hosts many of Zipline’s proprietary autonomous aircraft as well as flight operations crew. It can service a 50-mile radius, almost equivalent to the size of the state of Connecticut.
Management Weighs In
Tom Ward, SVP of Last Mile Delivery at Walmart U.S., commented, “Zipline’s aircraft can help provide immediate access to needed items for both hard-to-reach and at-risk populations, such as rural communities and elderly customers.”
He further added, “By bringing this game-changing technology to the rural community of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, we’re continuing to look for ways to make shopping with Walmart convenient and easy – for everyone.”
Analysts Recommendation
Following the robust Q3 results, Credit Suisse analyst Lavesh Hemnani reiterated a Buy rating with the price target of $166 (16% upside potential) on Walmart.
Hemnani stated that Q4 has made a good start despite margin and cost pressures. Based on Walmart’s pricing edge, the analyst believes the company is better positioned to tackle the impact of higher pricing.
Overall, the stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on 16 Buys and 4 Holds. The average Walmart price target of $172.15 implies 20.25% upside potential to current levels.
Bloggers Weigh In
TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 92% Bullish on WMT, compared to a sector average of 70%.
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