Year in Review: Top 10 NWA stories of 2025

Walmart’s new multibillion-dollar Home Office and CEO, more than $500 million in new infrastructure projects and over $250 million in university fundraising were among the top business stories of 2025.

Talk Business & Politics compiled a list of the news stories that have impacted the Northwest Arkansas business community and are likely to continue to make a mark on the region for years to come. Like last year, five honorable mentions that just missed the cut follow the top 10 list.

• Walmart’s new home, CEO
Bentonville-based retailer Walmart marked the opening of its more than 350-acre Home Office and announced the retirement of its CEO Doug McMillon in 2025.

The multibillion-dollar home office, east of J Street between Central Avenue and 14th Street (Arkansas Highway 102), has been opening in phases. McMillon first shared his vision for a new corporate campus in September 2017, and work began on the multi-year project in 2019.

More than 15,000 corporate employees are expected to work in 12 offices at the new headquarters. The campus includes a welcome center, amphitheater, fitness center, childcare, 153-room hotel, bike trails, parking garages, restaurants, coffee shops, food truck pavilions, grab-and-go markets and rooftop lounge.

On Nov. 14, Walmart announced that McMillon will step down on Jan. 31, 2026, after serving as CEO for 12 years. Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner will succeed McMillon.

“When you see somebody who’s ready to run the next lap better and faster than you are, it’s time to hand the baton and get out of the way and just cheerlead. And that’s what’s happening,” McMillon said in a recent CNBC interview. “I had a great opportunity to do this job for a long time, and I’d like to see that happen for the next person (John Furner). John’s ready to do it. He has the wisdom and experience, and I know he might run faster. But John’s also been with the company for more than 30 years, and he’s eight years younger than I am.”

• Alice Walton Developments
Bentonville philanthropist Alice Walton opened two health care-focused institutions in 2025 and is working to build another. Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and Heartland Whole Health Institute opened in 2025 on the 134-acre Bentonville campus that includes Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which is undergoing a 114,000-square-foot expansion.

Bentonville recently issued a $42.26 million permit for the construction of a five-story, 300-unit multifamily housing complex to serve medical school students and the broader community. The 300,000-square-foot complex under construction across from the medical school is to be completed by late 2027.

Work continued on plans for a 100-acre Bentonville Health Care Campus at Interstate 49 and East Central Avenue (Arkansas Highway 72). The first phase comprises the construction of a Center for Advanced Specialty Care that’s expected to open in December 2028. The second phase will include a partnership with Northwest Arkansas school districts, including Bentonville Public Schools to expand its Ignite Professional Studies program onto the campus.

In February, the Alice L. Walton Foundation said it purchased the 100-acre campus site as part of its $700 million, 30-year affiliation with Mercy and Heartland Whole Health Institute. The partnership includes $350 million from the foundation to develop an outpatient center of care for specialty services in Bentonville and $350 million from Mercy to build a new cardiac care center at its Rogers hospital.

• Major infrastructure projects
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) broke ground Nov. 6 on the first phase of a $500 million project to widen Arkansas Highway 112 to four lanes between Fayetteville and Bentonville.

The first segment of the 18-mile project will cost $43.94 million. ARDOT awarded the 1.44-mile segment of the project to APAC-Central Inc. in Fayetteville. The first phase is expected to be completed in late 2027.

ARDOT Director Jared Wiley said while the overall project is expected to cost $500 million, that number rises to $700 million when considering right-of-way and utility relocation costs.

In July, ARDOT was awarded a $24.46 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to pay for the final phase of the Springdale Northern Bypass (Arkansas Highway 612) from Arkansas Highway 265 to U.S. Highway 412 east of Springdale. The fourth phase of the bypass was expected to cost $326.22 million. Work is underway on the second phase, scheduled for completion in early 2027. Columbia, Mo.-based Emery Sapp & Sons Inc. was awarded the $180.78 million contract.

Also in 2025, ARDOT awarded $3.01 million for 12 trail projects across Northwest Arkansas, including $500,000 for recreation enhancements to Gateway Park in Greenland, $500,000 for sidewalk improvements to Mason Valley Road in Highfill, and $500,000 for tunnel crossing and trail realignment for the Razorback Greenway at Arkansas Highway 264 in Lowell.

• Key XNA moves
Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) in Benton County continued to exceed enplanements of Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, detached from Highfill, completed a solar array, and will complete a terminal renovation project in the first quarter of 2026 while eyeing expansion.

XNA’s enplanements, or passengers flying out, started exceeding Clinton National’s in September 2024, and the trend continued through 2025. As of November, XNA had exceeded its 2024 record of 1.14 million enplanements. Meanwhile, as of October, Clinton National’s were down narrowly from 2024.

XNA has preliminary plans for a more than $109.4 million terminal expansion that shows multiple design options, including a patio for viewing airplanes taking off and landing, mezzanine with private workstations, and 18,000-square-foot storm shelter. In September, Rogers-based Hight Jackson Associates was selected to design the 88,939-square-foot West Concourse expansion.

Also in September, XNA detached from Highfill after reaching an agreement that ensured the city would pay its existing bonds by Dec. 31, 2030. That day, the city will end its taxes for XNA customers.

XNA’s 3-megawatt solar array was connected to the grid in August. It’s on about 23.5 acres at the airport and is expected to save XNA more than $100,000 annually. Other projects completed or nearing completion include the $41.6 million terminal modernization project, 141-foot-tall air traffic control tower, communications center, lounge and art gallery.

• Significant expansions
Several area manufacturers and a regional water utility announced major expansion projects in 2025.

Spokane Valley, Wash.-based electronics manufacturer Key Tronic Corp. invested $28 million to relocate its Fayetteville plant to a 300,000-square-foot industrial building in Springdale. The move is expected to create more than 400 jobs over five years.

Central States, a Tontitown-based manufacturer of metal building products, opened a 105,000-square-foot plant in Springdale to support the fast-growing pre-engineered metal building system business. The $24 million plant will create up to 140 jobs after adding a second shift.

Bridgewater, N.J.-based industrial gas company Messer broke ground on a new air separation unit in Berryville. The $70 million plant is expected to create more than 20 jobs and help the company meet rising demand for industrial gases in the United States.

Packaging Specialties Inc., a Fayetteville-based commercial printing and packaging company, announced a $24 million expansion and plans to add more than 100 jobs over five years at its Fayetteville plant. The roughly 25,000-square-foot expansion will help the company meet the increasing demand for its printed film products.

Lowell-based utility Beaver Water District broke ground on a 4.99-megawatt solar array amid a more than $700 million expansion running through 2035 or 2036. Adjacent to the array, a 16-million-gallon clear well for treated water storage is under construction. The $40 million project started in 2025 and is expected to be completed in 2027.

• Fayetteville bond package
The city of Fayetteville announced Sept. 26 a $320 million bond issue that will include investments in water and sewer systems, parks, fire services, transportation, an animal shelter and a new aquatic center.

The city said two-thirds of the proposed bond issue would be dedicated to water, sewer and transportation infrastructure.

Mayor Molly Rawn said the investments will prepare more areas for housing and support growth. Revenue to support the bonds will come from existing sales tax revenue, according to the city.

“The initiatives in this bond tie back to housing, jobs and our local economy,” Rawn said. “When we invest in reliable water and sewer, safe roads and accessible parks, we’re building the foundation for families, businesses and Fayetteville’s future.”

The 2026 bond issue will build on the investments of the $226.07 million bond issue that Fayetteville voters approved in 2019, according to the mayor’s office. It supported multiple city projects such as a new police headquarters, fire stations, road improvements and The Ramble.

Bond items in the 2026 package will include water and sewer upgrades for the wastewater plant, fire department facilities and equipment including a new station, road and pedestrian improvements, an aquatic center and improvements to existing parks, a modern animal shelter and expanded recycling facilities.

The special election for the bond package will be held March 3.

• University of Arkansas fundraising
The University of Arkansas raised more than $254.7 million in private gifts during fiscal year 2025, which ended June 30. It was the fourth-highest fundraising year in school history, according to the university.

University officials said fiscal 2025 ended as the most successful year in the university’s fundraising history outside of a major capital campaign year. The fiscal year total includes gifts of cash, gifts-in-kind, planned gifts and new pledges received from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.

This includes the $132.8 million raised for the UA’s Land of Opportunity Scholarship campaign, a three-year initiative to increase educational access for students. The $200 million campaign launched Nov. 12, 2024, with the announcement of a $100 million gift from Jane Hunt and Bryan Hunt on behalf of the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt family.

Overall, the gifts established new endowed funds, supporting students, faculty, research, programs and campus priorities. The enduring resources help to attract talent, contribute to innovation and strengthen academic success. The gifts also made possible new student scholarships, awards and fellowships.

Land of Opportunity giving continued into the second half of 2025. Springdale-based Simmons Foods donated $1 million, Bruce Woody and his wife, Rebecca, gave $1 million to the endowment, and Bill and Pat McKamey will give $1 million, the university announced in October and November.

• UA semiconductor lab opens
The University of Arkansas marked the opening of a $95 million semiconductor fabrication facility that’s the first of its kind Nov. 14.

The 22,000-square-foot National Multi-User Silicon Carbide Research and Fabrication Laboratory (MUSiC) is the only openly accessible fabrication facility. It’s at the UA’s Arkansas Research and Technology Park in south Fayetteville.

MUSiC will allow the federal government – through national labs – businesses and universities to develop semiconductor prototypes with silicon carbide, a capability that was previously unavailable. Silicon carbide is a semiconductor that can outperform silicon chips, and silicon carbide electronics can operate in extreme environments. At the new facility, chips can go from developmental research to prototyping, testing and fabrication.

Alan Mantooth, UA Power Group’s founding director and Distinguished Professor of engineering, said the new facility is not a “typical research facility that you find in most universities. It’s not a small clean room. It’s a full fab, but it’s just like a miniaturized commercial fab. So that allows us to be a bridge to high-volume manufacturing. In that way, you’ve got traditional R&D that will happen but very industry relevant. With low-volume prototyping capability and process control you find in a major fab, you’re able to be a bridge to that high-volume manufacturing.”

Mantooth said the facility will likely become available for companies to use in mid-2026.

• Cargill shutters operations
Tyson Foods acquired the shuttered Cargill turkey plant located on Randall Wobbe Road in Springdale for $23 million.

Nathan McKay, president of Tyson’s poultry segment, informed a Springdale city council committee Nov. 17 of the company’s plans to buy the meat processing plant, which closed in August. McKay said Tyson would retrofit the plant into another chicken processing facility. He said it would be used for portioning operations and further processing, and not a slaughter plant like the one the company operates on Spring Street, just a few blocks away from the former Cargill facility.

Tyson’s proposal estimates that around 200 people will work at the plant following the planned upgrades and modifications to suit chicken processing. The company could also not rule out that production at other facilities might be impacted when the new plant comes online.

Cargill confirmed in late January 2025 plans to close its turkey processing facility in Springdale. More than 1,000 employees and more than 100 farmers who raise turkeys for the company were told the plant would close by Aug. 1.

The plant opened in 1965 and grew to one of the largest employers in Springdale. The plant was among the oldest in Cargill’s meat processing system and was acquired by Cargill in 1976 from Ralston Purina.

• Amenity developments
The year delivered numerous announcements about museums, trails, sports facilities and other quality-of-life amenities in Northwest Arkansas.

The highest-profile project was the ongoing expansion of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. Museum officials announced in September “two landmark gifts,” and it will host an opening ceremony for its 114,000-square-foot expansion in June 2026. The gifts comprise art from museum chairwoman Olivia Walton and her husband, Tom Walton, and from collectors Candace and Michael Humphreys of Dallas. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in 2011. Alice Walton founded Crystal Bridges in 2005 as a nonprofit.

The Scott Family Amazeum in Bentonville announced a $25 million expansion of the facility that opened in 2015.

OZ Trails announced plans to build a mountain bike park with more than 20 miles of trails in Bella Vista. Amenities include the OZ Trails HQ with dining, a bike shop and rental center, a community plaza, a pump track, a dedicated hiking trail and art installations.

Other news included a $28 million boutique hotel to be built in downtown Springdale, plans to convert the Bud Walton homesite into a botanical garden, expansion of the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, reopening of the Walmart Museum in downtown Bentonville after more than two years of renovation and expansion, and opening of the $34 million Opera in the Ozarks theater near Eureka Springs.

Honorable Mentions
Homebuilder acquired for $1 billion
Fayetteville-based Rausch Coleman Homes, the nation’s third-largest privately held homebuilder and 21st-largest homebuilder, was acquired in a more than $1 billion transaction in early 2025.

Miami-based Lennar Corp., the second-largest homebuilder in the United States, purchased Rausch Coleman’s homebuilding operations. Lennar spin-off company Millrose Properties acquired about 24,000 homesites of Rausch Coleman Homes for $900 million.

The deal led John Rausch, chairman and CEO of Rausch Companies, to start real estate development company The Calara Group, focusing on large-scale single-family, multifamily and commercial developments.

A majority of Rausch Coleman’s land development teams and staff at the Fayetteville home office transitioned to Calara and Rausch Companies, a Fayetteville-based family-holding company with a portfolio of real estate and energy assets.

Lennar continues to use the Rausch Coleman Homes name because of its regional brand recognition. Before the acquisition, Rausch Coleman Homes was building 5,000 homes a year in seven states.

Non-Walmart key leadership changes
Northwest Arkansas-based companies announced multiple C-suite changes this year.

Rogers-based America’s Car-Mart Inc. appointed former Walmart executive Jonathan Collins as chief financial officer, succeeding Vickie Judy, who transitioned to chief accounting officer. The transition was effective May 12.

Joe Vitiritto, president and CEO of Tontitown-based carrier PAMT Corp., resigned June 27 for family reasons. PAMT promoted chief financial officer Lance Stewart to president, CEO and company director on Aug. 4.

Heartland Forward announced July 30 that Ross DeVol will transition to chairman emeritus after leading the Bentonville nonprofit since 2019. Angie Cooper succeeded DeVol.

On Sept. 1, Lowell-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. promoted Brad Delco to chief financial officer and executive vice president of finance. Chief Financial Officer John Kuhlow became chief accounting officer.

Kevin Sabin, chairman and CEO of Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank, retired Nov. 1. Matt Machen, president and chief operating officer, replaced Sabin, adding the CEO title.

On Dec. 1, Rhett Stover started as president of Mercy Northwest Arkansas Communities. Ryan Gehrig, president for all Mercy Arkansas Communities, became focused full-time on Mercy Fort Smith.

Canoo bankruptcy
Canoo, a promising startup in 2020 that once promised to headquarter in Northwest Arkansas, closed its doors in early 2025.

Founded in California, the company sought to produce commercial electric vehicles, including fleet vans, for vehicle rental and ride-sharing services. Walmart had signed an agreement to buy 4,500 delivery vehicles, but it never came to fruition.

In mid-January, Canoo filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which involves selling off assets to settle with creditors and closing the doors. Canoo immediately ceased operations and laid off its remaining workforce, which was scattered in Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas. The microbus-inspired cargo van manufacturer declared assets of $126 million and debts of $164 million.

The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal reported in 2022 that Canoo signed a 10-year, $17.1 million lease to occupy a 270,000-square-foot industrial building in Bentonville. But that did not fully materialize. Canoo did move its headquarters from Torrance, Calif., to Justin, Texas, and had a manufacturing operation in Oklahoma City, but the Arkansas connection never happened.

Walton-backed university plans
Tom Walton and Steuart Walton said May 8 that their family will establish a university as part of a mixed-use development planned for the former Walmart Home Office site at Eighth Street and Walton Boulevard in Bentonville.

Tom Walton and Steuart Walton are the grandsons of Walmart founders Helen and Sam Walton.

The new university is expected to focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

“Bentonville is the perfect place to spark catalytic change — a community rooted in innovation, entrepreneurship and bold thinking,” Steuart Walton said. “We have the opportunity to build a new model of higher education, designed for the realities of today’s economy and the challenges of tomorrow, and set a new standard for what’s possible.”

The school is expected to welcome its first undergraduate class of about 500 students “in the coming years,” according to the announcement. Over time, class sizes are expected to grow to about 1,500 undergraduate students and 500 non-degree students. Tuition will be fully paid initially.

Razorback football coaching shuffle
Hunter Yurachek, vice chancellor and director of athletics for the University of Arkansas, fired Sam Pittman as head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sept. 28, the day after the Razorbacks lost at home to Notre Dame 56-13.

Pittman, in his sixth season leading the Razorbacks, had a 32-34 overall record and three bowl wins. Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino served as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025 season, which ended with a 10-game losing streak.

Ryan Silverfield, head coach of the University of Memphis, was named the 35th head coach of the Razorbacks on Nov. 30. He joined the Memphis program in December 2019, going 50-25 and earning bowl eligibility in all six years. Silverfield was the head coach of the Memphis Tigers when it overcame an 18-point deficit to defeat the Razorbacks 32-31 in Memphis on Sept. 20.

Silverfield’s contract is a five-year deal worth a total of $33.5 million, running from Nov. 30, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2030.