With a market capitalization of $816.9 billion, Walmart Inc. (WMT) is a global retail leader that offers a wide range of products and services through its physical stores, e-commerce platforms and mobile applications. Operating in three main segments: Walmart US; Walmart International; and Sam’s Club, the company emphasizes everyday low prices and costs to deliver value and convenience to customers around the world.
Shares of the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company have outperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. WMT shares have soared 25.9% during this period, while the broader S&P 500 index ($SPX) has gained 18.3%. However, Walmart shares are up 13.4% so far this year, lagging SPX’s nearly 17% gain.
To narrow the focus, shares of the retail giant have also outpaced the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLP) decline of 4.7% over the past 52 weeks and decline of 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.
Walmart shares fell 4.5% on Aug. 21 after its second-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS came in at $0.68, missing the consensus estimate even though revenue rose 4.8% year over year to $177.4 billion, above the estimate. Operating income declined 8.2% to $7.3 billion, pressured by muted legal and restructuring costs, higher liability claims, salary increases and strategic investments that offset strong growth in e-commerce and membership revenue.
For the fiscal year ending January 2026, analysts expect WMT’s adjusted EPS to grow 3.6% year over year to $2.60. The company’s history of earnings surprises is mixed. It surpassed consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed estimates on another occasion.
Among the 38 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is “Strong Buy.” This is based on 31 “Strong Buy” ratings, six “Moderate Buys” and one “Hold.”
This setup is more bullish than three months ago, when WMT had 29 “strong buys” in total.
On October 30, RBC Capital analyst Steven Shemesh reaffirmed a “Buy” rating on Walmart, maintaining a price target of $116.
The average price target of $114.24 represents a 10.6% premium to WMT’s current price levels. The Street’s high price target of $129 suggests 24.9% upside potential.
As of the date of publication, Sohini Mondal had no (directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are for informational purposes only. This article was originally published on Barchart.com