WMT Joins the $1 Trillion Club: Can the Rally Continue for the Stock?

Walmart Inc. WMT crossed the $1 trillion market-cap mark on Feb. 3, as shares climbed almost 3% and touched a new 52-week high. The rally pushed WMT into an elite valuation bracket historically dominated by technology leaders. The milestone highlights growing investor confidence in the retailer’s steady execution and ability to evolve beyond a traditional big-box model.

Walmart’s expanding omnichannel ecosystem remains its core growth engine. The company has steadily strengthened its e-commerce capabilities, supported by faster delivery, improved fulfillment efficiency and disciplined inventory management. By leveraging its vast store network to fulfill digital orders, Walmart has been able to scale online growth while supporting better operating efficiency.

Another key driver is the growth of higher-margin businesses. Walmart’s advertising and membership operations have become increasingly important contributors to profitability, growing faster than core retail sales and helping offset pressure on traditional merchandise margins. These businesses add more recurring and services-led revenues, improving earnings visibility over time.

Investors are also factoring in Walmart’s ongoing investments in automation, data and artificial intelligence. These initiatives are aimed at improving operational efficiency, lowering costs and enhancing the customer experience while laying the groundwork for more personalized and seamless shopping over time.

Walmart’s international operations are also playing a growing role in its investment appeal. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, management highlighted steady, constant-currency growth and progress in profitability across several markets, with digital adoption accelerating in regions such as India and China. These markets support top-line growth while offering opportunities to scale digital innovation across the broader organization.

Overall, reaching a $1 trillion valuation signals that Walmart is increasingly being viewed as a resilient, diversified platform positioned for sustained growth.

What the Latest Metrics Say About Walmart

Walmart, which competes with Costco Wholesale Corporation COST and Target Corporation TGT, has seen its shares rally 24.6% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 19.8%. Shares of Costco and Target have declined 6.2% and 17.7%, respectively, in the aforementioned period.

From a valuation standpoint, Walmart's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 48.44, higher than the industry’s 37.92. The company is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 15.25) as well as Costco (46.7).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Walmart’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 4.6% and 4.8%, respectively. The consensus mark for the next fiscal-year sales and EPS suggests year-over-year growth of 4.5% and 12.3%, respectively.

Walmart currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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