Arm Holdings vs Walmart: Founders, CEOs and History
Arm Holdings was founded in 1990 by Robin Saxby, Sophie Wilson, Steve Furber and is led by Rene Haas. Walmart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton and is led by John Furner.
Company facts
Arm Holdings
- Founded
- 1990
- Headquarters
- Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Current CEO
- Rene Haas
- Employees
- 9,584
Walmart
- Founded
- 1962
- Headquarters
- Bentonville, Arkansas
- Current CEO
- John Furner
- Employees
- 2,100,000
Founders
Arm Holdings
Robin Saxby
The founding of Arm (Advanced RISC Machines) is a quintessentially British technology story, born out of a desperate need to build a more efficient computer processor.
Sophie Wilson
Sophie Wilson, along with Steve Furber, designed the original ARM processor at Acorn Computers in 1983 to 1985.
Steve Furber
Steve Furber served as the ARM processor's lead hardware designer at Acorn before the formation of Arm Ltd., but like Sophie Wilson did not join the new company directly.
Walmart
Sam Walton
Sam Walton opened the first Walmart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962 and built the company around low prices, low costs, and its own distribution network. He served as CEO until 1988 and remained chairman until his death in 1992.
CEOs and their tenures
Arm Holdings
- Robin Saxby1991–2001
Founding Chief Executive Officer
Robin Saxby was Arm's founding chief executive, recruited in 1991 to run the new joint venture from a converted barn at Swaffham Bulbeck near Cambridge with 12 engineers seconded from Acorn.
Source - Warren East2001–2013
Chief Executive Officer (Former)
Warren East ran Arm for twelve years from October 2001, the period in which the company became the default architecture for mobile computing.
Source - Simon Segars2013–2022
Chief Executive Officer (Former)
Simon Segars was chief executive for nine years from July 2013, overseeing SoftBank's 2016 acquisition, the attempted sale to Nvidia and the expansion of Arm's IoT strategy through the Treasure Data and Stream Technologies acquisitions, both of which were late…
Source - Rene Haas2022–present
Chief Executive Officer
Rene Haas became Arm's chief executive in February 2022, succeeding Simon Segars after nine years at Arm in engineering and commercial roles.
Source
Walmart
- Sam Walton1962–1988
Founder and CEO
Founded Walmart and set its low-price, low-cost operating approach.
Source - Doug McMillon2014–2026
Former President and CEO
Led Walmart's push into ecommerce, marketplace, advertising, and store-fulfilled delivery, and oversaw the Jet.com, Flipkart, and VIZIO deals.
Source - Greg Penner2015–present
Chairman of the Board
He successfully managed the transition of corporate leadership to Doug McMillon and actively oversees the Walton family's controlling stake in the retail giant.
Source - John David Rainey2022–present
Executive Vice President and CFO
As CFO, he aggressively executed multi-billion-dollar share repurchases while funding massive capital expenditures for store remodels and automation.
Source - John Furner2026–present
President and CEO
Became President and CEO on February 1, 2026, succeeding Doug McMillon. He reshaped the executive team with internal promotions in January 2026.
Source - David Guggina2026–present
President and CEO, Walmart U.S.
As head of supply chain operations, he modernized the underlying logistics network that allowed Walmart to successfully compete with Amazon's two-day delivery speeds.
Source
Timeline: Arm Holdings and Walmart side by side
1962Walmart
First Walmart Opens
Sam Walton opens the first Walmart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas.
1970Walmart
Walmart Goes Public
Walmart sells shares to the public to fund expansion.
1983Walmart
Sam's Club Launches
The first Sam's Club warehouse club opens in Midwest City, Oklahoma.
1985Arm Holdings
ARM1 Processor First Silicon
The first ARM processor, ARM1, reached silicon at Acorn Computers, designed by Sophie Wilson, who wrote the instruction set, and Steve Furber, who led the hardware.
1988Walmart
First Supercenter and New CEO
Walmart opens its first supercenter, and David Glass succeeds Sam Walton as CEO.
1990Arm Holdings
Arm Founded as an Acorn, Apple and VLSI Joint Venture
The company was incorporated in November 1990 as Widelogic Limited and renamed Advanced RISC Machines Limited on December 3, 1990, structured as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple Computer and VLSI Technology.
1993Arm Holdings
Apple Newton Ships with ARM610 and Arm Turns Profitable
Apple launched the Newton MessagePad, powered by an ARM610 processor, the first significant consumer product built on an ARM-based chip.
1998Arm Holdings
Dual Listing on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq
Arm floated on April 17, 1998, trading in London and New York on the same day after being priced at 575p a share by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Cazenove. The company was renamed ARM Holdings at the listing and joined the FTSE 100.
2000Walmart
Lee Scott Becomes CEO
Lee Scott succeeds David Glass as CEO.
2001Arm Holdings
Warren East Becomes Chief Executive
Warren East was appointed chief executive in October 2001, succeeding Robin Saxby. Over the following twelve years Arm established the Cortex CPU and Mali GPU families and became the standard architecture for smartphones.
2004Arm Holdings
Artisan Components Acquired for $913 Million
Arm bought Artisan Components, a designer of physical IP such as standard cell libraries, memory compilers and input and output cells, extending Arm from processor designs into the foundry-specific building blocks needed to fabricate a chip.
2007Arm Holdings
iPhone Launch Accelerates Smartphone Royalty Growth
Apple launched the original iPhone with a Samsung-manufactured application processor built on an ARM11 core.
2013Arm Holdings
Simon Segars Succeeds Warren East as CEO
Arm announced in March 2013 that Warren East would retire and that president Simon Segars, who joined Arm in 1991 as one of its early engineers, would become chief executive from July 1, 2013.
2014Walmart
Doug McMillon Becomes CEO
Doug McMillon, who started as an hourly associate in 1984, becomes CEO.
2016Arm Holdings
SoftBank Acquires Arm for ~$32.1 billion (24.3 Billion Pounds)
SoftBank Group agreed on July 18, 2016 to acquire Arm Holdings for 24.3 billion pounds, about $31.4 billion in cash, and completed the deal on September 5, 2016.
2016Walmart
Jet.com Acquisition
Walmart buys Jet.com for about $3.3 billion to strengthen its U.S. ecommerce team.
2018Walmart
Flipkart Investment
Walmart acquires a majority stake in Flipkart for about $16 billion.
2020Arm Holdings
Nvidia Agrees to Buy Arm for $40 Billion
Nvidia announced an agreement to acquire Arm from SoftBank for about $40 billion in cash and stock.
2022Arm Holdings
Nvidia Deal Collapses and Rene Haas Becomes CEO
Nvidia and SoftBank terminated the acquisition in February 2022 after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to block it, the UK Competition and Markets Authority recommended against it and EU regulators opened a Phase II review.
2023Arm Holdings
Nasdaq IPO Prices at $51 and Raises $4.87 Billion
Arm listed on Nasdaq on September 14, 2023 under the ticker ARM, pricing American depositary shares at $51 and raising about $4.87 billion at a valuation of roughly $54.5 billion. It was the largest U.S.
2024Arm Holdings
Fiscal 2024 Revenue Reaches $3.23 Billion
Arm reported fiscal 2024 revenue of $3,233 million, up 21%, made up of $1,802 million of royalty revenue and $1,431 million of license and other revenue, with net income of $306 million.
2024Walmart
VIZIO Acquisition
Walmart completes its $2.3 billion purchase of smart-TV maker VIZIO to expand its advertising business.
2025Arm Holdings
Artisan Foundation IP Business Sold to Cadence
Arm completed the sale of its Artisan foundation IP business, the standard cell libraries, memory compilers and general-purpose input and output blocks it had built up since the 2004 Artisan acquisition, to Cadence Design Systems on August 26, 2025 under an ag…
2025Arm Holdings
Lumex Client Platform Launched for On-Device AI
In September 2025 Arm launched Lumex, its compute subsystem platform for flagship smartphones and next-generation PCs, pairing C1 CPUs and G1 GPUs with Scalable Matrix Extension version 2 for on-device AI.
2025Arm Holdings
Fiscal 2025 Revenue Passes $4 Billion
Arm reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $4,007 million, up 24%, with royalty revenue of $2,168 million and license and other revenue of $1,839 million, and net income of $792 million.
2026Arm Holdings
Arm Launches the AGI CPU, Its First Production Silicon
At the Arm Everywhere event in San Francisco on March 24, 2026, Arm introduced the Arm AGI CPU, the first chip it designed and sells as finished silicon rather than licensable IP.
2026Arm Holdings
Fiscal 2026 Revenue Reaches $4.92 Billion
Arm reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $4,920 million, up 23% and a third consecutive year of growth above 20% since the IPO, with royalty revenue of $2,613 million, license and other revenue of $2,307 million and net income of $904 million.
2026Walmart
John Furner Becomes CEO
John Furner succeeds Doug McMillon as President and CEO effective February 1, 2026; David Guggina takes over Walmart U.S.
2026Walmart
Q2 FY27 Results
Walmart reports Q2 FY27 revenue of $187.9 billion, up 5.9%, and raises full-year sales and operating income guidance.
Acquisitions
Arm Holdings
- Treasure Data2018$600M
- Stream Technologies2018Undisclosed
- Apical2016$350M
- Artisan Components2004$913M
Questions about Arm Holdings vs Walmart
Who is the CEO of Arm Holdings and Walmart Inc.?
Arm Holdings is led by Rene Haas and Walmart Inc. is led by John Furner. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Arm Holdings founded vs Walmart Inc.?
Walmart Inc. was founded in 1962 — 28 years before Arm Holdings, which was founded in 1990. Walmart Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Arm Holdings.
How many employees does Arm Holdings have compared to Walmart Inc.?
Arm Holdings employs approximately 9,584 people, while Walmart Inc. employs approximately 2,100,000. Walmart Inc. has the larger workforce at 2,100,000 employees, compared to Arm Holdings's 9,584. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Arm Holdings and Walmart Inc. headquartered?
Arm Holdings is headquartered in United Kingdom and Walmart Inc. is headquartered in United States. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Arm Holdings and Walmart Inc.?
Arm Holdings was founded by Robin Saxby, Sophie Wilson, Steve Furber. Walmart Inc. was founded by Sam Walton.
Which company has a longer operating history — Arm Holdings or Walmart Inc.?
Walmart Inc. has been operating for approximately 64 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Arm Holdings has been in operation for around 36 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Arm Holdings vs Walmart overview