What Walmart Owns / Acquired
Indian digital payments, fintech distribution and a large consumer/merchant network separate from Walmart retail.
Why Walmart Wanted It
PhonePe gives Walmart exposure to everyday payments and financial services in India, a much broader digital relationship than merchandise commerce alone.
What Changed
PhonePe separated from Flipkart in fiscal 2023. Walmart's ownership fell from approximately 84% to approximately 73% as of January 31, 2026 after option exercises related to potential IPO preparation.
Strategic Lesson
Walmart's international ecosystem includes businesses that do not look like conventional retail but can benefit from the same digital-consumer growth.
How It Fits Walmart
The entity should be evaluated by how it contributes to:
- geographic expansion;
- digital customers;
- advertising;
- payments;
- marketplace;
- data;
- technology.
Not every subsidiary needs to sell merchandise directly to be strategically relevant to Walmart.
Financial Boundary
Walmart consolidates majority-owned subsidiaries subject to applicable accounting rules.
But:
- subsidiary revenue is not necessarily separately disclosed;
- noncontrolling interests can change;
- an IPO can change ownership without ending control.
Ownership percentages should follow the latest formal disclosure rather than an inferred current estimate.
Evidence
Why FinTech Fits Walmart International
Payments are adjacent to commerce but not dependent on Walmart-branded stores.
PhonePe can participate in:
- consumer payments;
- merchant acceptance;
- financial services.
That creates an India growth vector independent from Flipkart merchandise GMV.
Separation Matters
PhonePe's separation from Flipkart makes it a distinct corporate asset.
Do not treat Flipkart's eCommerce performance as PhonePe performance or vice versa.