The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which consumer-goods editor and analyst Austin Smith and financial and economics sector head Ilan Moscovitz discuss topics around the investing world.
As part of our series "3 Reasons to Buy/Sell," Austin plays devil's advocate to the Wal-Mart bulls and gives investors three reasons to consider selling the company today. At the top of his list is the Mexico bribery scandal that recently came to light. For the socially responsible investor, this is reason enough (as if there weren't enough to draw from already). But Austin also sees this as a larger overall drag on Wal-Mart's international operations. The growth in Mexico was the crown jewel in its international portfolio, and if that growth was achieved only through bribery, it could indicate that international expansion will be far harder than initially anticipated. The uninspiring growth of the past few years coupled with a slipping gross margin would be red flags as well.
If you're hanging on to Wal-Mart shares for the dividend, though, you're not alone. In fact, it was named one of our 9 Rock-Solid Dividends. But there are certainly some other high-yielders on the list that may fit your growth expectations a bit more. You can learn about them by clicking here now.
