Walmart Investors Had A $130 Billion Decade

Core Insights - Walmart has returned a total of $132 billion to its investors over the past ten years through dividends and buybacks, ranking it as the 13th highest in shareholder returns in history [2][3] - The company has achieved this while expanding revenue, investing in e-commerce, automation, and logistics, and maintaining a conservative balance sheet [3] - Dividends and share repurchases indicate management's confidence in financial stability and sustainable cash flows [4] Financial Metrics - Walmart's revenue growth stands at 4.3% for the last twelve months (LTM) and an average of 5.4% over the past three years [8] - The company has a free cash flow margin of approximately 2.2% and an operating margin of 4.1% LTM [8] - Walmart's stock trades at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 41.7 [8] Market Position - The total capital returned to shareholders as a percentage of market cap appears inversely related to growth potential for reinvestments, with companies like Meta and Microsoft showing faster growth but returning a smaller portion to shareholders [5] - High capital returns raise questions about potential compromises in growth and fundamentals [6]