Walmart buys Vibe.co for $1.4 billion to expand TV ads

Walmart plans to spend $1.4 billion on Vibe.co, a French advertising-technology company, in a push to expand its connected-TV advertising business, Fortune reported. The deal matters because Walmart is trying to build higher-margin businesses outside traditional retail, where Amazon has already created a far larger advertising operation.

Vibe.co helps advertisers place campaigns on internet-connected televisions and streaming video services, according to Fortune. The company also focuses on small and midsize advertisers that may lack access to major advertising agencies, a segment Fortune described as underserved.

Ryan Mayward, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart Connect U.S., told Bloomberg that Walmart wants to reach customers in the places where they spend their time. Fortune reported that the Vibe.co purchase is Walmart’s largest acquisition in two years.

Building on Vizio

The agreement follows Walmart’s 2024 purchase of Vizio, the connected-TV maker, Fortune reported. That acquisition gave Walmart a stronger position in television-based advertising, rather than serving only as a move to sell more TV hardware.

Walmart Connect, the retailer’s media and digital advertising arm, places ads across Walmart’s website, app, store screens and other online venues, according to Fortune. The business uses Walmart’s customer data to target ads, Fortune reported.

Advertising remains a small part of Walmart’s overall revenue, but Fortune reported that non-retail operations such as advertising and membership are among the company’s fastest-growing and most profitable add-on businesses. Those operations offer a contrast with Walmart’s core retail business, where profit margins are thin, according to Fortune.

Chasing Amazon’s ad lead

Fortune reported that Walmart is following Amazon into a business that has become a major profit stream for the e-commerce company. By some estimates cited by Fortune, Walmart’s ad business brought in $6.4 billion, about 1% of its total revenue and roughly one-tenth of Amazon’s advertising revenue.

Amazon surpassed Walmart in revenue in 2025 and became the No. 1 company on the Fortune 500, Fortune reported. Walmart remains behind Amazon in U.S. e-commerce sales, though Fortune reported that the retailer has narrowed the online sales gap in recent years.

The Vibe.co deal also comes early in John Furner’s tenure as Walmart chief executive, Fortune reported. Furner became CEO last winter after previously leading Walmart’s U.S. business and working closely with former CEO Doug McMillon on the company’s e-commerce expansion and efforts to add new revenue streams, according to Fortune.

Fortune reported that Furner’s early personnel moves pointed in the same direction. He promoted David Guggina, Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce chief executive, to lead the company’s $500 billion U.S. division despite Guggina’s lack of store or merchandising leadership experience, according to Fortune.

Furner also hired Seth Dallaire, a former Instacart and Amazon executive, as chief growth officer for Walmart U.S., Fortune reported. Dallaire was tasked with developing technology-driven businesses including advertising, media and online marketplace operations.

Walmart also shifted its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq in 2025, a move Fortune described as another sign that the company wants investors to view it as more technology-focused. The Vibe.co acquisition adds another piece to that strategy, centered on turning Walmart’s shopper data and media reach into a larger advertising business.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.