Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Wal-Mart's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Wal-Mart facts

Headquarters (founded) Bentonville, Ark. (1945)
Market Cap $208.1 billion
Industry Hypermarkets and super centers
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $447.0 billion
Management CEO Michael Duke (since 2009)
CFO Charles Holley (since 2010)
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) 21.9%
Cash/Debt $6.6 billion / $53.4 billion
Dividend Yield 2.6%
Competitors Carrefour
Costco Wholesale
Target

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 89% of the 7,078 members who have rated Wal-Mart believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.  

Just last week, one of those Fools, dmiller5350, summed up the bull case for our community:

Wal-Mart still has potential in emerging markets to drive growth. They've proven they can adapt over time to grow same store sales and generate new opportunities in their stores. They're getting back to what they do best, low prices. The recession taught a little lesson about their market and where they belong and the efficiencies created are added benefits when the economy improves. ... Oh and dividends are nice.

If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future. Of course, despite a strong four-star rating, Wal-Mart may not be your top choice.

We've found another retailer we are incredibly excited about -- excited enough to dub it "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012." We have compiled a special free report for investors to uncover this stock today. The report is 100% free, but it won't be here forever, so click here to access it now.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the new TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.