Is Sam's Club profitable?

Yes. Sam's Club, a Walmart segment, posted FY2025 (ended January 31, 2025) segment operating income of $2.4 billion, up 9.7% year over year, on net sales of $90.2 billion, according to a May 2026 comparative market analysis.

Sam's Club (legal entity Sam's West, Inc.) has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ: WMT) continuously since its founding on April 7, 1983, in Midwest City, Oklahoma. It is not independently traded; it reports as a Walmart segment.

Could AI replace Sam's Club checkout jobs?

It already has, in part. Sam's Club's computer-vision 'Just Go' exit system, piloted at CES in January 2024, scaled to 120+ clubs by April 2024, and rolled out to all roughly 600 US clubs by April 2025, eliminating traditional checkout lanes and receipt checkers.

Who is Sam's Club's biggest competitor?

Costco Wholesale, the dominant warehouse-club incumbent. Costco generated $5.3 billion in membership fee revenue in fiscal 2025, about 64% of its profit, and leads on member loyalty and renewal rates versus Sam's Club, per a July 2026 TheStreet analysis.

Who is the CEO of Sam's Club now?

Latriece Watkins, a 32-year Walmart veteran and former Walmart U.S. Chief Merchandising Officer, became President and CEO of Sam's Club U.S. effective February 1, 2026, succeeding Chris Nicholas, who moved to lead Walmart International.

Is Sam's Club raising membership fees in 2026?

Yes. Effective May 1, 2026, Sam's Club raised its Club membership fee to $50 to $60 per year and Plus membership to $110 to $120 per year, its first fee increase since October 2022.

E-commerce and marketplaces · subsidiary of Walmart Inc. · United States

Sam's Club

samsclub.com ↗

Walmart-owned warehouse club chain selling bulk groceries and goods to paying members.

Hard to displace

Assessed 22 July 2026 · Evidence as of 22 July 2026

Strong structural protection; the business model survives ai pressure.

On the recordSince 22 July 2026 · Checkable from Q1 2027 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Walmart Q4 FY2026 earnings show membership renewal after May 2026 fee hike

The call

Sam's Club sits inside Walmart as a stable, growing membership business with no AI predator in sight and Costco as a steady rival, not a threat.

Sam's Club runs membership-based warehouses where people pay a yearly fee to buy things in bulk, and it makes up about 5% of Walmart's total business. It is hard to replace because members keep paying their fees year after year, there are over 600 physical locations spread across the country, and Walmart can use its massive supply chain to stock shelves cheaper than rivals like Costco can. The big question is whether customers will keep paying when membership fees go up in 2026, and whether Sam's Club opens enough new warehouses each year to keep growing as Walmart says it wants to do.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. Sam's Club uses AI computer-vision exit scanning across 120+ clubs to speed checkout, feeding efficiency rather than facing an AI predator. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Costco Wholesale. Costco stays bigger on renewal rates and loyalty, but 40 years of coexistence show no sign of Sam's Club losing share to it. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. Membership fees renewing at double-digit growth for five straight quarters plus Walmart's logistics and supply chain behind 600+ clubs.

What would change this call

Membership fee revenue growth rate in Walmart's next 2-3 earnings reports after May 2026 fee hike. Shows whether members are absorbing the fee increase or leaving after renewal.
Sam's Club store openings pace through end of 2026 versus the stated 15/year target. Shows whether expansion plans are accelerating or stalling under Walmart.
Full-year comparable sales figure in Sam's Club FY2027 results versus FY2026's 2.9%. Shows whether the recent sales deceleration is continuing or reversing.

Key numbers

FY2026 net sales ~$93.0 billion (2026-01-31)
Membership fee revenue $4.4B, up from $3.8B (2026-01-31)
FY2026 comp sales growth 2.9%, a historic low (2026-01-31)

Named risks

Store openings running at 4-7/year versus stated 15/year target announced April 2025. Severity: medium
May 2026 membership fee hike could slow renewal and fee-revenue growth after five quarters of double-digit gains. Severity: medium
Comparable sales growth decelerated to 2.9% in FY2026, among the lowest in its historical series. Severity: medium
Costco maintains stronger member loyalty and larger fee-driven profit share, per July 2026 analysis. Severity: medium
Operational execution friction, e.g. botched July 2026 Pokemon TCG release drawing employee criticism. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Costco Wholesale	contesting	Costco's $5.3B membership fee revenue (~64% of profit) vs Sam's/Walmart's $4.4B global, FY2025-2026
BJ's Wholesale Club	gaining on	Sam's Club ranks #2 by sales ahead of #3 BJ's, per Wikipedia sourced ranking, 2026-07-22
Amazon Prime	contesting	Theoretical warehouse-club threat for over a decade with no documented share capture as of 2026
Walmart+	contesting	Sibling Walmart membership program overlaps for value shoppers without requiring club membership, 2026-07-21

Questions people ask

Is Sam's Club profitable?: Yes. Sam's Club, a Walmart segment, posted FY2025 (ended January 31, 2025) segment operating income of $2.4 billion, up 9.7% year over year, on net sales of $90.2 billion, according to a May 2026 comparative market analysis.
Who owns Sam's Club?: Sam's Club (legal entity Sam's West, Inc.) has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ: WMT) continuously since its founding on April 7, 1983, in Midwest City, Oklahoma. It is not independently traded; it reports as a Walmart segment.
Could AI replace Sam's Club checkout jobs?: It already has, in part. Sam's Club's computer-vision 'Just Go' exit system, piloted at CES in January 2024, scaled to 120+ clubs by April 2024, and rolled out to all roughly 600 US clubs by April 2025, eliminating traditional checkout lanes and receipt checkers.
Who is Sam's Club's biggest competitor?: Costco Wholesale, the dominant warehouse-club incumbent. Costco generated $5.3 billion in membership fee revenue in fiscal 2025, about 64% of its profit, and leads on member loyalty and renewal rates versus Sam's Club, per a July 2026 TheStreet analysis.
Who is the CEO of Sam's Club now?: Latriece Watkins, a 32-year Walmart veteran and former Walmart U.S. Chief Merchandising Officer, became President and CEO of Sam's Club U.S. effective February 1, 2026, succeeding Chris Nicholas, who moved to lead Walmart International.
Is Sam's Club raising membership fees in 2026?: Yes. Effective May 1, 2026, Sam's Club raised its Club membership fee to $50 to $60 per year and Plus membership to $110 to $120 per year, its first fee increase since October 2022.

Timeline

2026-07-08Zacks reports Scan & Go at ~36% of transactions and 22-23% eCommerce growth
2026-07-02USA Today confirms only 7 fiscal-year 2026 store openings, far below 15/year target
2026-05-28Member's Mark Community participants surpass 150,000, a 3x rise since June 2024
2026-05-01First membership fee increase since Oct 2022 takes effect, Club to $50-$60, Plus to $110-$120
2026-01-16Latriece Watkins named President and CEO of Sam's Club U.S., effective Feb 1, 2026
2025-11-02Q3 FY2026: $23.5B net sales, fifth straight quarter of double-digit membership fee growth
2025-04-30Just Go AI exit technology completes nationwide rollout to all ~600 US clubs
2025-04-11Sam's Club unveils 8-10 year plan to double membership, sales and profit, 15 clubs/year
2024-01-09Just Go computer-vision exit tech piloted at CES, scaled to 120+ clubs by April 2024
1983-04-07Sam's Club founded in Midwest City, Oklahoma as a Walmart warehouse concept

Revision history

22 July 2026

First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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