Walmart's Equity-Driven Pay Strategy Aligns Managers With Company Success

Walmart's decision to pay its top-performing U.S. store managers up to $620,000 annually—complete with stock grants and bonuses—has become a cornerstone of its strategy to foster employee ownership and improve retention, CEO John Furner revealed in an April address at a retail and consumer conference, according to Fortune. The initiative, which raised base salaries for regional managers from $130,000 to $160,000 and supplemented them with equity, has contributed to Walmart's recent recognition as a top employer and a 10% improvement in hourly worker retention over the past decade, Fortune reported.

Furner emphasized that the compensation overhaul, implemented in January 2024, was designed to align managers' financial interests with the company's performance. "What we did last year was make managers feel like owners," he said, noting that shareholding has influenced their approach to profit and loss management. The move follows a broader corporate trend of using equity incentives to retain talent, particularly in sectors facing labor shortages. Walmart's spokesperson Anne Hatfield told Fortune that the policy reflects a "years-long journey" of wage increases, starting with hourly pay raises in 2015.

The impact of the high-earning tier—covering approximately 4,000 U.S. store managers—has been significant. Walmart climbed to the top of the Fortune 500 in 2024 and retained its spot on Fortune's Best Companies to Work For list in 2025, Fortune noted. A Harvard Business School study, set for publication this fall, will analyze the business outcomes of the pay strategy, which includes both managerial and minimum-wage increases.

The approach resonates with broader workforce dynamics. A 2024 BambooHR report found that 73% of employees would consider leaving their jobs for higher pay, while 40% had not received a raise in the past year. Walmart's strategy contrasts with traditional perks like "unlimited PTO," which experts argue hold less sway than direct financial incentives. Kelsey Tarp, BambooHR's HR business partner director, noted that misaligned compensation can lead to costly talent gaps: "The cost of getting compensation wrong is easily realized in multiples later."

Walmart's playbook mirrors similar high-stakes bets by other corporations. Rolls‑Royce distributed $39 million in shares to employees during its turnaround, while Volkswagen offered a 14% pay raise to Tennessee plant workers amid labor disputes. ExxonMobil, after years of salary freezes and layoffs, granted 9% average raises in 2025, with top performers seeing hikes of 15–25%.

For Walmart, the gamble appears to be paying off. With 1.5 million employees across its U.S. operations, the company's focus on "cold, hard cash" has helped it navigate a competitive labor market. As Furner noted, "This is the latest wage investment in our people," a philosophy that continues to shape its corporate culture.