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Walmart IncWMTCOMMENTMay 13, 2016Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Oct 16, 2026. Market Open.
WMT and COST are the dominant discount retailers in the US. They became priced for perfection, with multiples of 40-50x PE for a large, mature company. Might be a great company, but that multiple's for a younger company, growing at very high rates because it can get a lot bigger. Both are in the process of compressing to a 20x PE multiple.
Either earnings are better than expected and stock trends sideways. Or earnings are worse, and multiple goes down. Either way, not much upside.
Both great companies, but both very expensive. COST is over 50x PE, and WMT's in the 40s. Fairly low-margin model. Reliant on the consumer, and everyone's affected when that consumer is struggling.
WMT reported today. Earnings were OK, but projections on future quarters were tough. High fuel prices were highlighted.
Successful transition to e-commerce is why stock's been on fire. Topline growth is only 4-5%, and his team debates this company all the time. PE is 46x earnings for 2026, extremely expensive. Seen as a safe place to park $$ as they continue to execute.
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Many retailers suffer, but overall some of them are actually doing well. If there was too much optimism priced in, or a lack of recognition of how much online was going to take from their business, that is when the stock really gets hammered. This has economy of scale with over 11,000 stores. Part of the challenge is that they operate with very thin margins, which doesn’t leave much of a buffer to cut prices when they start to sit on inventory. To combat online shopping, they are using price matching. Also, getting into the organic space in groceries. He wouldn’t be in a rush to buy this, because it is still unclear how the disruption in the retail space is going to take place.