Walmart stock (NASDAQ: WMT) moved past $125 on Tuesday, pushing the retailer’s market capitalization to $1 trillion.
That milestone places Walmart among a small group, making it only the 12th publicly traded company to ever reach that valuation.
The move reflects a change in how Wall Street is pricing traditional retail.
Investors who once reserved trillion-dollar valuations for tech companies are now rewarding retailers that show consistent execution and growth.
Walmart shares are up 164% over the past two years. The gains track closely with progress in e-commerce, the use of artificial intelligence across operations, and faster growth in higher-margin advertising revenue.
The timing also lines up with a major leadership transition.
John Furner, a 30-year Walmart veteran who led the turnaround of US operations, became President and CEO on February 1, replacing Doug McMillon.
McMillon will remain on Walmart’s board through mid-2026 and serve as an adviser through fiscal 2027, helping ensure continuity during the transition.
Walmart stock: Market metrics and strategic drivers
Walmart’s stock is up 22.5% over the past year and 164.5% over the past three years, putting it among the strongest-performing mega-cap names in the market.
That run pushed the company’s market capitalization past the $1 trillion mark on Tuesday.
At current levels, the stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 43, well above its historical average, but one that investors appear willing to accept in exchange for faster earnings growth.
Stacked up against peers like Costco, Home Depot, and even Amazon, Walmart’s valuation tells the story of a hard-won comeback.
After years of skepticism around traditional retail, the company has managed to change how Wall Street views its growth potential.
The reasons behind that shift are clear, and increasingly measurable.
Under John Furner’s leadership of Walmart US, the company’s e-commerce business has delivered consistent annual growth above 20%, reinforcing the view that Walmart can compete at scale online.
Its Walmart+ membership program has also gained momentum, climbing to 28.4 million members as of January 2026.
That marks the highest level on record, with year-over-year growth accelerating to 12% from roughly 10% late last year.
Perhaps most importantly, Walmart Connect, the company’s retail advertising arm, has emerged as a meaningful profit driver.
Since launching in 2021, the business has grown into a roughly $4 billion operation, benefiting from higher margins similar to those seen in digital ad platforms.
Investors are also placing increasing weight on Walmart’s use of technology to drive long-term efficiency and growth.
The company has rolled out AI-powered chat tools to improve customer search, invested in smarter inventory management systems, and expanded drone delivery to more than 100 stores nationwide through a partnership with Alphabet’s Wing Aviation.
Adding to that momentum, Walmart’s partnership with OpenAI to enable ChatGPT-powered shopping tied directly to its product catalogue underscores management’s ambition to stay ahead as new commerce channels emerge.
Q4 earnings to lead the way
Walmart reports fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings on February 19th, when investors will scrutinize guidance on advertising growth, membership momentum, and margin expansion.
The investors can expect volatility if guidance disappoints or signals any slowdown in Walmart+.
Analysts from Wolfe Research ($130 price target), Tigress Financial ($135), and TD Cowen ($136) remain constructive, though the valuation leaves little room for error.
The post Walmart hits $1 trillion market cap as Wall Street rethinks retail appeared first on Invezz
