President Donald Trump's tariffs are widening the gap between market-leader Walmart and Target, the companies' latest quarterly reports show, underscoring missteps at the smaller U.S. retailer amid economic uncertainty.

Walmart CEO Doug Millon said the company will try to keep prices low, but the company won't be able to absorb the full cost of the tariffs.

Nike is the latest retailer to announce price hikes amid President Donald Trump’s elevated import tariffs. See what retail companies have done so far.

President Donald Trump has ripped into Walmart, saying on social media that the retail giant should eat the additional costs created by his tariffs.

U.S. companies are also still cautioning about how tariffs could affect their businesses. On Walmart 's ( WMT -1.35%) earnings call last week, CEO Doug McMillon warned about potential repercussions. President Trump responded on social media that Walmart makes billions of dollars in sales, and that it should "eat the tariffs." But can it?

The sheer scale of Walmart's U.S. business - $442 billion in net sales last year, following a surge since the pandemic - gives it more negotiating power with suppliers. Record memberships at Sam's Club and booming sales in India and China have also insulated it from recent weakness in the U.S. economy.

Walmart is expected to lay off around 1,500 employees from its global technology and in-house advertising teams, reports say.