Walmart has become the first traditional (brick-and-mortar) retailer to cross a $1 trillion market capitalisation, a milestone usually associated with large technology companies. With this, Walmart joins an elite group dominated by firms such as Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.
This achievement reflects Walmart’s strong e-commerce growth, its success in attracting price-conscious consumers across income groups, and growing investor confidence in its artificial intelligence (AI)–driven transformation.
Key highlights
- Walmart’s stock has surged 468% over the past decade, outperforming the S&P 500’s 264% gain, driven by its ability to cater simultaneously to:
- Lower-income consumers seeking low prices, and
- Higher-income consumers seeking value, speed and convenience.
- Over the last five years, Walmart has:
- Expanded its online marketplace to over 500 million items,
- Introduced one-hour delivery,
- Launched Walmart+ to compete with Amazon Prime, and
- Built a $4-billion advertising business, improving margins.
- Walmart invested billions of dollars in AI, particularly in:
- Supply-chain automation,
- Inventory forecasting,
- Search optimisation, and
- Faster, more reliable delivery systems.
- These investments helped Walmart beat US same-store sales estimates for 15 consecutive quarters (LSEG data).
Role of AI in Walmart’s rise
AI has been central to Walmart’s transformation from a traditional retailer into a tech-enabled retail platform.
Key AI benefits:
- Fresher produce through predictive stocking,
- Reduced delivery time and costs,
- Improved demand forecasting,
- Better product discovery and search accuracy.
Investor optimism around AI has further boosted Walmart’s valuation as online grocery shopping expands rapidly.
Walmart’s dominance in US retail
- Walmart accounts for $1 out of every $4 spent on groceries in the United States.
- It has benefited from economic stress on households caused by:
- Persistent inflation,
- A cooling job market,
- Trade tariffs, and
- Uncertainty following the recent US government shutdown.
In such conditions, Walmart’s “Everyday Low Price” strategy has become more attractive across income groups.
Entry into the $1 trillion club
- Walmart was recently added to the Nasdaq-100 Index, which tracks the most valuable non-financial companies.
- Companies with market capitalisation above $1 trillion include:
- Nvidia
- Alphabet
- Apple
- Microsoft
- Amazon
- Meta
- Broadcom
- Tesla
- Berkshire Hathaway
According to BankRate:
- Nvidia leads with about $4.3–4.5 trillion,
- Followed by Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet and Amazon.
Company background (static facts)
- Founded: 1962, first store in Rogers, Arkansas.
- Went public: 1970 (OTC), listed on NYSE in 1972.
- Joined Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1997.
- Long-standing constituent of the S&P 500.
- Operates about 4,600 stores across the US.
- Latest stock price: around $127, adjusted for multiple stock splits, including a 3-for-1 split in February 2024.
What this milestone means
- Traditionally, $1 trillion valuations were seen as the domain of pure technology firms.
- Walmart’s inclusion signals:
- The convergence of retail and technology, and
- How data, AI and logistics efficiency can fundamentally reshape legacy businesses.
This also underscores how platform-style retail models can generate tech-like valuations.
Challenges ahead
- Walmart faces intense competition from Amazon, particularly in AI-powered shopping tools.
- It has partnered with:
- OpenAI, and
- Google
to integrate shopping services into AI chatbots, aiming to close the gap with Amazon’s Rufus AI assistant.
The AI arms race in retail is expected to intensify as consumer behaviour shifts further towards digital and conversational commerce.