If you just checked your brokerage app and saw a green number next to Walmart, you aren't alone. Today, Wednesday, January 14, 2026, the price of walmart stock today is hovering around $120.36 to $120.38 per share.
It's a weirdly specific moment for the retail king. We are sitting right at the edge of an all-time high, with the 52-week peak recently touching $120.51. Honestly, if you’d told someone three years ago that Walmart would be trading at 45 times forward earnings—basically tech company territory—they would have laughed you out of the room. But here we are.
Walmart has spent the last year shedding its "boring big-box" skin and crawling into the skin of a tech giant. Just this morning, RBC Capital bumped their price target to $126, specifically citing the company's "AI acceleration." It’s a lot to process, especially when you're just trying to figure out if it’s a good time to buy or if you’ve already missed the boat.
Breaking Down the Price of Walmart Stock Today
Market volatility is the name of the game this week. Yesterday, the stock closed at $120.36, marking a solid 2.03% jump in a single session. That’s a massive move for a company with a market cap approaching $960 billion.
When you look at the intraday chart, you’ll see it opened at $117.89 and stayed pretty resilient. The volume is high too—around 31 million shares changing hands—compared to the usual average of 20 million. People are clearly piling in.
Why the sudden rush?
A huge part of the "why" is the announcement that Walmart is officially joining the Nasdaq-100 Index on January 20, 2026. It’s replacing AstraZeneca. This isn't just a trophy; it means every index fund and ETF that tracks the Nasdaq-100 has to go out and buy millions of shares of WMT. That "forced buying" creates a massive floor for the price, which is exactly what we’re seeing play out in real-time today.
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The Numbers You Actually Care About
- Current Trade: ~$120.37
- Day's High: $120.51
- Day's Low: $117.73
- Market Cap: $959.37 Billion
- Dividend Yield: 0.78%
It's kinda wild to think about the 52-week low being $79.81. If you bought back then, you’re up over 50%. But for those looking at the price of walmart stock today, the question is whether there’s any gas left in the tank.
The AI Pivot: More Than Just a Buzzword
We’ve all heard companies scream "AI" to juice their stock price, but Walmart is actually doing it. They recently met with analysts to showcase their "agentic search" and AI-powered instant checkout. Basically, they’ve partnered with Google to bake the Gemini chatbot directly into the shopping experience.
It's sort of brilliant. They aren't just selling milk and socks anymore; they are selling a tech-driven ecosystem.
Bernstein recently raised its target to $129 because they see high-income shoppers sticking with Walmart+ even as inflation cools. If middle-to-high-income families keep buying their organic groceries and electronics at Walmart, the margins stay fat. This is a huge shift from the old days when Walmart only won when everyone else was broke.
Not Everyone is a Fan
I have to be honest: the valuation is a bit scary.
A P/E ratio of 42 for a retailer? That’s rich. To put that in perspective, the S&P 500 is trading at about 22 times earnings. Some analysts, like the folks at Mizuho, have actually swapped Walmart out of their "top picks" list lately. They still like the company—raising their target to $125—but they’re worried the "good news" is already priced in.
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There's a legitimate risk that once the January 20th Nasdaq inclusion happens, we might see a "sell the news" event where the price dips back toward $110.
What Most People Get Wrong About WMT
People still talk about the 3-for-1 stock split from February 2024 like it was yesterday. That split is the reason the price looks "low" at $120 compared to the $170+ it hit years ago. If the split hadn't happened, we’d be looking at a stock price over **$360** right now.
It’s also easy to forget that Walmart is a dividend aristocrat. They’ve raised that payout for 53 consecutive years. While a 0.78% yield isn't going to buy you a yacht next week, it’s the ultimate safety net.
The 2026 Outlook: What's Next?
Earnings are coming up on February 19, 2026. Wall Street is expecting an EPS (Earnings Per Share) of about $0.73.
If they beat that—and they usually do—we could see the stock blast past the $130 mark. But if the holiday spending data shows that even Walmart shoppers are finally feeling the pinch of high interest rates, $120 might be the ceiling for a while.
The "Constructive" tone from the executive team, specifically Daniel Danker (EVP of AI), suggests they aren't worried. They are betting the house on digital advertising and membership fees from Walmart+ to drive the next leg of growth. These are high-margin businesses that look a lot more like Amazon than Sears.
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How to Handle This Information
If you're watching the price of walmart stock today with the intent to buy, here is the expert takeaway.
First, don't chase the daily high. With the stock sitting just cents away from its 52-week peak of $120.51, the "RSI" (Relative Strength Index) is around 73. In plain English: it’s overbought.
Wait for a breather.
History shows that after a massive run-up into an index inclusion (like the Nasdaq-100 move on Jan 20), there’s often a 3-5% pullback. If you can snag shares closer to the $112 or $115 support levels, your risk-to-reward ratio looks a whole lot better.
Second, keep an eye on the February 19th earnings call. That will be the real test of whether the "AI retail" story is a fairy tale or a gold mine.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Set a Price Alert: Put a notification on your phone for $114.50. This was a previous resistance level that should now act as support.
- Check the "Sell the News" Date: Mark January 21 on your calendar. This is the day after the Nasdaq-100 inclusion. If the price starts dropping then, it's likely just a technical correction, not a disaster.
- Diversify Your Retail Exposure: If $120 feels too expensive, look at how the broader sector is moving. Walmart is leading, but it often pulls competitors like Costco and Target along for the ride.