Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is the largest retailer in the world by revenue. It went public in 1970, listed on the NYSE in 1972, and has raised its dividend for more than 50 consecutive years as one of the S&P 500's dividend aristocrats.
Sam Walton opened the first store in Arkansas in 1962 and scaled it on everyday low prices and supply-chain efficiency. After buying Jet.com in 2016, Walmart re-cast its 4,600-plus US stores as fulfillment nodes for pickup and same-day delivery — a last-mile cost advantage that is hard for Amazon to copy.
Walmart U.S. is grocery-heavy, driving repeat traffic and recession resilience on thin gross margin. Sam's Club and international add membership fees and exposure to Mexico, Canada, China and Flipkart in India. The third-party marketplace, Walmart Fulfillment Services, Walmart Connect retail media and Walmart+ are the higher-margin growth pools.
Operating margin sits in the low single digits, so wage and freight inflation show up quickly. The valuation is well above the retailer's own long-run average, imported general merchandise is exposed to tariffs, and Amazon, Costco, Aldi and Temu compete from every angle.
Advertising is still a fraction of Amazon Ads' scale, automation keeps lowering cost per order, and recent share gains have come disproportionately from higher-income households.
A company everyone expects to be disrupted can outperform by repurposing assets it already owns. A meaningful share of the long-run return comes from a rising dividend and its reinvestment. Watch US comparable sales, e-commerce growth, and the share of operating profit from advertising and membership.
Note: Walmart pays a quarterly dividend and figures assume dividends are reinvested. Prices are adjusted for the February 2024 3-for-1 split and all prior splits. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Data updates daily.