Walmart (WMT +1.78%) is the largest company in the world by sales. It has more stores than any other retailer, and it continues to grow at a healthy pace. If you're considering buying Walmart stock, here's what you need to know.
What does Walmart do?
Walmart owns 10,700 stores worldwide, including 4,600 in the U.S. The company says that 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of one of its stores, but it continues to open new stores at a healthy, though slow, pace. It's a discount retailer, and while it sells a large range of merchandise, it's concentrated in grocery. Among its U.S. stores is Sam's Club, a warehouse model similar to Costco Wholesale.
Image source: Walmart.
Although it competes with Costco as well as Target, in addition to your corner grocery shop, its biggest competitor today is probably Amazon. Both of these companies are competing to provide consumer essentials, whether through a physical footprint or online.
Walmart has expanded its e-commerce business over the past few years, and this has been a major growth driver for the business. It has an edge, even over Amazon, in certain ways, since it has an unbeatable distribution system in its vast store network. It uses its stores as delivery hubs, and they also provide "buy online, pickup in store" stations that make it easy for customers to get what they need quickly.
How is Walmart performing?
Walmart has generated more than $700 billion in sales over the past 12 months. Revenue increased 6% year over year (currency neutral) in the 2026 fiscal third quarter (ended Oct. 31), driven by a 27% increase in e-commerce sales. Adjusted operating income was up 8%, and earnings per share rose from $0.58 last year to $0.62 this year.
The company recently announced that CEO Doug McMillon is retiring and handing over the reins to John Furner, who currently leads the U.S. business.
NYSE: WMT
Key Data Points
How is Walmart stock doing?
Another major announcement the company recently made is that it's switching stock exchanges from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to the tech-heavy Nasdaq. This is meant to reflect the company's focus on new digital initiatives. The move allows Walmart stock to be featured only in Nasdaq indexes.
Walmart stock has been performing very well lately. Despite its size and slow growth, investors continue to see value in owning this resilient giant, which continues to thrive as shoppers seek low prices in a tough economy. Walmart stock is up 24% this year, versus 17% for the S&P 500.
Although Walmart's dividend only yields 0.8% at the current price, Walmart is a Dividend King, and it has raised its dividend for the past 52 years. That's just about as reliable as it gets, which is why value and passive income investors love Walmart stock.
