When you walk through those sliding glass doors, you probably aren't thinking about market capitalization or enterprise value. You're just trying to find where they moved the lightbulbs. But behind the stacks of Great Value cereal and the hum of industrial refrigerators lies a financial entity so massive it practically has its own weather system.
So, walmart is worth how much exactly?
If you ask a stockbroker, they’ll point to the $940.56 billion market cap as of mid-January 2026. That is a staggering number. To put that in perspective, if Walmart were a country, its "value" would rival the GDP of entire nations. But market cap is only one way to look at it. There is a big difference between what the stock market says a company is worth and the actual pile of cash and buildings it owns.
The Trillion-Dollar Question
Right now, Walmart is knocking on the door of the trillion-dollar club. It’s a group currently dominated by tech titans like Apple and Microsoft. Honestly, it’s a bit wild to think of a "grocery store" sitting at the same table as the iPhone and the cloud.
The stock (WMT) has been on a tear lately. It recently moved from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq, which was a huge symbolic shift. Why? Because the company wants you to stop thinking of it as a brick-and-mortar dinosaur. They’ve gone all-in on AI, specifically integrating Alphabet’s Gemini into their shopping experience and scaling drone deliveries with Wing.
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Breaking Down the 2026 Valuation
To understand the "worth," we have to look at several different buckets. Total revenue for the twelve months ending October 2025 hit $703.06 billion. That’s not just profit—that’s the raw cash flowing through the registers.
- Market Capitalization: ~$940 billion.
- Annual Revenue (TTM): Over $703 billion.
- Total Assets: Roughly $288.6 billion as of the last quarterly report.
- Shareholder Equity: About $102 billion.
See the gap? The market thinks Walmart is worth nearly a trillion dollars, even though its "physical" net worth (assets minus liabilities) is closer to $100 billion. That’s because investors aren’t just buying the stores; they are buying the future growth of the Walmart Plus ecosystem and the high-margin advertising business.
Is It Just About the Stores?
Not anymore. Not by a long shot.
The physical footprint is still enormous, obviously. We’re talking over 10,700 stores globally. But the real "value" driver in 2026 is Walmart International. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, international sales jumped 11.4%. China alone contributed $6.1 billion in a single quarter, with digital sales making up almost half of that.
Then there’s the advertising. It sounds boring, but Walmart Connect is a goldmine. When brands pay to show up first in your search results on the Walmart app, that is almost pure profit for the company. In 2025, their global advertising business grew by 46%. That kind of growth is why the stock price is hovering near $118 to $120 per share.
Who Actually Owns This Giant?
You can’t talk about what Walmart is worth without talking about the Waltons. They are the ultimate "old money" success story, though they’ve managed to keep a tight grip on the reins.
The family still owns about 45% of the company.
Jim, Alice, and Rob Walton—the children of founder Sam Walton—share control of the majority of these shares through Walton Enterprises LLC and the Walton Family Holdings Trust. Alice Walton is frequently cited as the richest woman in the world, with her personal stake valued at over $160 billion depending on the day's market fluctuations.
The rest is held by institutional giants. Vanguard and BlackRock own massive chunks, which means if you have a 401(k) or a basic index fund, you probably own a tiny sliver of Walmart yourself.
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The Real-World Impact of $940 Billion
What does that value actually do? It pays for 2.1 million employees. It funds a supply chain that can deliver a package via drone in under 30 minutes in certain suburbs. It also gives the company massive leverage. When Walmart tells a supplier they need a lower price, the supplier usually listens because losing Walmart is a death sentence for most consumer brands.
The Risks to the Valuation
Is it all sunshine and "Rollbacks"? Not quite.
There are "overvaluation" whispers in the halls of Wall Street. With a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio sitting around 39, Walmart is currently trading at a premium compared to its historic average. It’s more expensive than Target but still cheaper than Costco.
If consumer spending dips or if the AI integration fails to produce the efficiency gains promised, that $940 billion valuation could contract fast. Also, legal and restructuring costs have been a drag, recently shaving off some operating income.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you are trying to wrap your head around Walmart's worth for investment or just pure curiosity, keep these points in mind:
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- Watch the E-commerce Growth: This is the most important metric. If digital sales (currently growing at 25-27%) slow down, the tech-heavy valuation will take a hit.
- The "Amazon" Factor: Walmart is the only company that has successfully built a logistics network that can actually challenge Amazon’s dominance. Their worth is tied to being the "omnichannel" king.
- Dividend Reliability: For those looking at "worth" as a source of income, Walmart has a long history of raising dividends. It’s a "Dividend Aristocrat," making it a staple for conservative portfolios.
- Check the Market Cap Daily: If you want the exact, up-to-the-minute value, search for "WMT market cap." It fluctuates every second the market is open.
Ultimately, Walmart is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for a share of its future. Right now, that price tag is nearly a trillion dollars. It’s a far cry from a single store in Rogers, Arkansas.
To keep tabs on this, you should regularly check the Walmart Investor Relations page for their 10-K and 10-Q filings. These documents provide the most granular look at their debt-to-equity ratios and segment performance, which are the true indicators of long-term value.