Your AI Agents Can’t Live without Your Data

Walmart’s Transformation: From Retailer to Data-Driven Powerhouse

A few years ago, Walmart’s core business looked much like it always had: high-volume, low-margin retail. But behind the scenes, a transformation was quietly taking shape—one that would become a case study in modern growth strategy.

That transformation was powered by first-party data.

Through its Retail Media Network, Walmart began monetizing decades’ worth of customer purchase and browsing data. Brands that sell through Walmart could now buy targeted digital ad placements on its website, app, and store displays—reaching customers based on real-time behavior and transaction history.

In 2024, Walmart’s advertising business generated more than $4.4 billion in global revenue, growing 27% year over year. Much of that came from Walmart Connect, its U.S. retail media division.

But the real story lies in profitability. In Q3 of 2024, Walmart Advertising and Membership fees contributed nearly one-third of Walmart’s $6.7 billion in operating income, despite accounting for a relatively small portion of total sales.

According to the Wall Street Journal, this high-margin stream has made Walmart one of the most closely watched players in the advertising space—putting it in more direct competition with Amazon and Google and signaling to investors that this is more than a retail company.

That investor confidence is showing up in performance. Walmart’s stock rose nearly 80% in 2024, making it the second-best performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, just behind Nvidia. Over the past year, Walmart also outpaced Amazon in stock gains, rising 53% compared to Amazon’s 12%.

The company’s current price-to-earnings ratio sits around 40, well above its 10-year average of roughly 29—suggesting the market sees Walmart’s diversified, data-fueled strategy as a sustainable growth engine. In contrast, competitors like Target trade at a P/E ratio closer to 11, reflecting investor skepticism about their ability to generate similar margin expansion.

Walmart hasn’t become a data company—but it has become a company that uses data to build new products, create new revenue, and deepen its competitive moat. And it did so by turning first-party data into something very few competitors can replicate: a differentiated, high-margin business that strengthens its core.

This isn’t just a compelling case study—it’s a strategic turning point. One that signals what’s possible when companies stop treating data as an operational necessity and start treating it as the foundation for future revenue growth.

Walmart is not alone. Leading companies such as The New York Times, Disney, NBCUniversal, and McDonald’s are putting first-party data strategies at the center of their growth efforts.

As reported by Digiday, The New York Times is capitalizing on its sizable subscriber base to create ad products that outperform traditional campaigns. Meanwhile, McDonald’s is significantly expanding its loyalty program and data capture to better serve customers and operate successfully.

The Real Stakes: Differentiation or Irrelevance

The shift Walmart exemplifies isn’t limited to retail. It reflects a broader inflection point across industries.

Today, it’s no longer enough to have great products, efficient operations, or loyal customers. Without a strategy to harness and activate your own data, your competitive advantage will erode—fast.

Why?

Because modern business competition is increasingly shaped by AI-powered experiences. And here’s where a critical distinction comes in:

• ‍AI models are the underlying engines—they analyze patterns, make predictions, and generate outputs.‍
• AI agents are the user-facing layer—products and systems that encapsulate models into real-world applications like underwriting advisors, recommendation systems, or customer support bots.

AI agents are how businesses create value and differentiation. But their performance—and uniqueness—depend entirely on the data they’re built on.

First-party data isn’t just fuel for AI models—it’s the source of strategic leverage for AI agents.

If your data isn’t structured, governed, or rich enough to support these agents, you’ll be stuck deploying the same generic AI everyone else is using. That’s not a roadmap to innovation. It’s a recipe for commoditization.

The Hidden Risk: Standing Still

Even innovative businesses are at risk.

Data-hungry applications that companies use to improve their products, processes, and decision-making will become inadequate. Superior offerings can quickly become obsolete faster if competitors are using feedback loops, behavioral insights, and real-time data to adapt better than you.

This isn’t just about growth. It’s about survival.

• AI-native startups are designing products with embedded intelligence from day one, allowing real-time learning and evolution.‍
• Traditional enterprises that haven’t built data-enabled offerings will find themselves reacting—or playing catch-up.

And the question forward-looking leaders must now ask is no longer simply, “Can we monetize our data?” but “Can we afford not to?”

At NewStage Partners, we help organizations ask the right questions before they act—evaluating whether their data is ready and what it will take to unlock value responsibly. This Insight outlines how to assess readiness, avoid common traps, and build a disciplined strategy that turns data into a real business asset.

How NewStage Helps Clients Transform First-Party Data

For many companies, the idea of monetizing first-party data is compelling—but the path to execution is murky. The data exists, the urgency is real, but the roadmap is fragmented.

At NewStage, we’ve seen firsthand how promising ideas stall when execution is handed over to teams that lack alignment, visibility, or the operational grounding to move forward.

That’s why we built a different approach—one that blends data management discipline with enterprise strategy to turn ambition into measurable results.

Step 1: Make Your Data Work Across the Enterprise

We begin by clarifying your data landscape—not just what’s available, but what’s reliable, valuable, and aligned to your business priorities.

Unlike tech-first consultancies that stay in IT silos, we engage stakeholders across functions to uncover blind spots, align incentives, and ensure data strategy supports business strategy.

Our discovery work connects data flows to value flows—so monetization isn’t just technically feasible, it’s organizationally supported.

Step 2: Build the Foundation for Trust and Scale

Data can’t create value if it’s not trusted. That’s why we emphasize foundational work that many overlook: master data management, quality controls, and scalable architecture.

These aren’t hygiene exercises—they’re the infrastructure of monetization.

At NewStage, we design systems that support experimentation while enforcing discipline—so your data products scale without compromising confidence.

Step 3: Align Monetization with Your Business Model

Many firms offer generic monetization playbooks. We don’t.

We co-design strategies that reflect your specific business model, customer relationships, and brand. Whether you’re creating new data products, powering AI agents, or improving internal margins, our focus is on building models that last—because they’re rooted in who you are and your customer’s needs and behaviors.

Where others jump to the "what," we start with the "why" and "for whom." That’s how we help clients maximize return and uncover true market differentiation.

Step 4: Operationalize with Clarity and Discipline

Monetizing data requires more than an idea—it requires the operational muscle to execute.

We guide clients through the details that matter: sequencing investments, avoiding hype traps, determining and establishing appropriate licensing models, and measuring data performance in a way that optimizes asset use.

Too often, we’ve seen businesses chase quick wins without clean data, or launch pilots without governance. With our approach, every step builds momentum and readiness—not unnecessary complexity.

What we help you build is intended to deliver sustained value.

Conclusion: The Time to Act Is Now—But Not Without a Plan

The opportunity to monetize first-party data has never been greater—or more essential. As AI redefines product expectations, and customer relationships shift toward personalization and intelligence, companies that fail to activate their data will fall behind. Not slowly—but irreversibly.

Yet the path to value isn’t through bold claims or quick wins. It’s through strategic discipline. It’s through trust in your data, alignment across your teams, and the courage to move forward with both ambition and clarity.

NewStage doesn’t just help you imagine the possibilities. We help you build the foundation, design the roadmap, and execute with confidence—turning your data into differentiated products, services, and business models that will set you apart for years to come.

Let’s make your data work harder—smarter—and for something bigger.

Sources:

• Walmart Is Retail King Again. Can It Keep the Crown?, Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2025
• The New York Times bets on the ad pendulum swinging back to context, Digiday, April 30, 2019
• Serving 65 Million Daily — Inside McDonald’s Data Masterplan for Global Expansion and Customer Loyalty, CDO Magazine, May 7, 2025