Everyone knows that Walmart is a big company, but not many people understand just how vast it really is. In addition to being the largest company in the world by revenue with over $548 billion in 2020, it is the largest private employer in the world with over 2.2 million employees. Walmart stores have a total floor space of about 105 square kilometers, larger than the city of Copenhagen.
Walmart was founded in 1950 in Bentonville, Arkansas, a city closely tied to the fortunes of the retail giant and where the headquarters remain. Sam Walton bought a small shop in the city and differentiated himself by selling goods at the lowest price possible. Today, his family still retain majority control of Walmart, and are collectively the richest family in the US with a 2020 net worth of over $200 billion.
The ascent of the company since its 1950 founding has been meteoric, expanding from a regional chain in the 1960s to national prominence over the 1970s and 1980s. Walmart pioneered the model of vast out of town superstores, a trend which dominated the American retail marketplace until the 2000s. The logistics operation, and immense power of their buying department, mean this remains one of the cheapest and the most popular stores in the US. Walmart’s growing eCommerce division sees it in direct competition with Amazon for this invaluable market.
By far the largest market for Walmart is the US, although it operates in more than 20 countries. Walmart once had total control over the major British supermarket ASDA, which it partly exited in 2009, while still maintaining a legacy stake. International expansion is often seen as the one thing Walmart can’t do well – its piecemeal presence in India, and vacillation over European expansion both facing criticism from analysts. Walmart’s failed foray into Germany between 1997 and 2006 incurred enormous losses and soured management’s view on the European market. On the other hand, Walmart’s successful Mexican subsidiary operates over 2,600 stores and is the largest retailer in Latin America.
Walmart’s 1970 IPO at $16.50 per share would have been one of the best-performing investments possible, especially when factoring in eleven stock splits and Walmart’s significant dividend. Though the shares are publicly traded and attract as part of both the S&P500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average indices, the Walton family’s investment vehicle and foundation are by far the largest shareholders, followed by the Vanguard group.
It’s easy to buy Walmart shares by logging in to one of our platforms - SaxoInvestor, SaxoTraderGO or SaxoTraderPRO - and searching for the ticker ‘WMT’. If you don’t have an account, create one by clicking here.
To find the price of Walmart shares on your account, log in and search for the ticker ‘WMT’. Then select trade ticket, click on the ‘I’ icon and then navigate to ‘Trading Rates’ to see costs. No account? No problem – just click here to open a Saxo account now.
Our platforms offer a range of different financial information to help you decide if Walmart is the right investment for you. You will find stock analysis, financial reports, and current and historical price charts on your account. You can open an account here.
Walmart consistently pays and increases its quarterly dividend to investors. You can find full dividend history and yield analysis by logging on to your trading platform. If you don’t have an account yet, you can click here to open one.
You can check how Walmart shares have performed in the past by logging in to your trading platform account to see detailed price charts and historical financial data. If you don’t have an account, you can open one by clicking here.
