MMarketMath

WMT

Slow growerQuality: Medium (58/100)1 red flag

Walmart · Consumer Staples · Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail

$106.49

52w 95.42 – 135.16

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$847.5B

P/E

38.7

P/FCF

56.8

FCF yield

1.8%

ROE

22.0%

Shldr yield

1.8%

div 0.9% + bb 1.0%

What today's price assumes

At $847.5B, the market is pricing in 22.0% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew -0.7% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.

Simple DCF per-share range: $20 · $20 · $25 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 8.2× across 19 years, WMT would trade near $43/share (25th–75th percentile: $33–$63); it trades at 20.4× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

+5.3%

Rev 5y

+4.9%

Rev 10y

+3.9%

EPS 5y

+11.2%

EPS 10y

+5.9%

FCF 5y

−10.4%

FCF 10y

−0.7%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2008–2026, from SEC filings

Revenue

2008: $377.0B
2009: $404.3B
2010: $408.1B
2011: $421.8B
2012: $446.5B
2013: $468.7B
2014: $476.3B
2015: $485.7B
2016: $482.1B
2017: $481.3B
2018: $495.8B
2019: $510.3B
2020: $519.9B
2021: $555.2B
2022: $567.8B
2023: $605.9B
2024: $642.6B
2025: $674.5B
2026: $706.4B
$0$200.0B$400.0B$600.0B
08
12
16
20
24

Net income

2008: $12.7B
2009: $13.4B
2010: $14.4B
2011: $16.4B
2012: $15.7B
2013: $17.0B
2014: $16.0B
2015: $16.4B
2016: $14.7B
2017: $13.6B
2018: $9.9B
2019: $6.7B
2020: $14.9B
2021: $13.5B
2022: $13.7B
2023: $11.7B
2024: $15.5B
2025: $19.4B
2026: $21.9B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
08
12
16
20
24

Free cash flow

2008: $5.7B
2009: $11.6B
2010: $14.1B
2011: $10.9B
2012: $10.7B
2013: $12.7B
2014: $10.1B
2015: $16.4B
2016: $16.1B
2017: $21.1B
2018: $18.3B
2019: $17.4B
2020: $14.6B
2021: $25.8B
2022: $11.1B
2023: $12.0B
2024: $15.1B
2025: $12.7B
2026: $14.9B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
08
12
16
20
24

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2008: 12.0B
2009: 11.7B
2010: 11.5B
2011: 10.8B
2012: 10.3B
2013: 10.0B
2014: 9.7B
2015: 9.6B
2016: 9.5B
2017: 9.2B
2018: 8.9B
2019: 8.7B
2020: 8.5B
2021: 8.4B
2022: 8.4B
2023: 8.2B
2024: 8.1B
2025: 8.1B
2026: 8.0B
05.0B10.0B
08
12
16
20
24

Margins

2%3%4%08111417202326
Net marginFCF marginGross margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2008: $11.3B
2009: $7.3B
2010: $11.5B
2011: $19.2B
2012: $11.3B
2013: $13.0B
2014: $12.8B
2015: $7.2B
2016: $10.4B
2017: $14.5B
2018: $14.4B
2019: $13.5B
2020: $11.8B
2021: $8.7B
2022: $15.9B
2023: $16.0B
2024: $8.9B
2025: $11.2B
2026: $15.6B
$0$5.0B$10.0B$15.0B
08
12
16
20
24

Cash vs long-term debt

$20.0B$40.0B08111417202326
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q1'24: $151.0B
Q2'24: $160.3B
Q3'24: $159.4B
Q4'24: $171.9B
Q1'25: $159.9B
Q2'25: $167.8B
Q3'25: $168.0B
Q4'25: $178.8B
Q1'26: $164.0B
Q2'26: $175.8B
Q3'26: $177.8B
Q4'26: $188.9B
Q1'27: $175.7B
$0$50.0B$100.0B$150.0B
24
24
25
26
27

Net income by quarter

Q1'24: $1.7B
Q2'24: $7.9B
Q3'24: $453.0M
Q4'24: $5.5B
Q1'25: $5.1B
Q2'25: $4.5B
Q3'25: $4.6B
Q4'25: $5.3B
Q1'26: $4.5B
Q2'26: $7.0B
Q3'26: $6.1B
Q4'26: $4.2B
Q1'27: $5.3B
$0$2.0B$4.0B$6.0B
24
24
25
26
27
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q1'27$175.7B+7.1%$5.3B+18.8%0.67$4.7B
Q4'26 *$188.9B+5.6%$4.2B−19.4%0.52$14.1B
Q3'26$177.8B+5.8%$6.1B+34.2%0.77$9.1B
Q2'26$175.8B+4.8%$7.0B+56.1%0.88$12.9B
Q1'26$164.0B+2.5%$4.5B−12.1%0.56$5.4B
Q4'25 *$178.8B+4.0%$5.3B−4.4%0.65$13.5B
Q3'25$168.0B+5.4%$4.6B+910.4%0.57$6.6B
Q2'25$167.8B+4.7%$4.5B−43.0%0.56$12.1B
Q1'25$159.9B+5.9%$5.1B+205.1%0.63$4.2B
Q4'24 *$171.9B+5.6%$5.5B−12.4%0.67$16.7B
Q3'24$159.4B+5.3%$453.0M0.06$813.0M
Q2'24$160.3B+5.9%$7.9B+53.3%0.97$13.6B
Q1'24$151.0B+7.6%$1.7B−18.5%0.21$4.6B

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+5.3%+4.9%+3.9%+3.5%
Operating cash flow+13.0%+2.9%+4.2%+3.8%
Free cash flow+7.6%−10.4%−0.7%+2.1%
EPS (diluted)+24.3%+11.2%+5.9%+4.0%
Equity+9.1%+4.2%+2.1%+2.5%
LT debt−0.0%−3.4%−1.0%−1.1%
Diluted shares−0.7%−1.0%−1.7%−2.0%
Stock price+26.5%+18.0%+18.1%+14.9%

$100, 3 years ago

$202vs $176 in SPY

26.5% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$229vs $181 in SPY

18.0% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$527vs $412 in SPY

18.1% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$805vs $813 in SPY

14.9% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 5 years

$13.78

$683.2B created / $49.6B retained

Last 10 years

$10.93

$847.8B created / $77.6B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

31.0%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

4.8%

MC vs 10× OCF

2.04

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

2.3y

SBC / FCF

24.1%

Owner earnings

$11.3B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

1.3%

Share count 5y

−2.2%

per year; negative = buybacks

Capital intensity

19.3%

net PP&E ÷ revenue

Sales efficiency

$0.29

new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y

Growth engine (5y): reinvested 11.5% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of 28.7% — an organically fundable growth rate of about 3.3% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).

Checklist

13 of 26 checks pass · 50%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

4/7

  • Revenue growth

    4.9% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • EPS growth

    11.2% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • FCF growth

    -10.4% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Revenue rises consistently

    9 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    pass
  • FCF consistently positive

    10 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    pass
  • Profitable every year

    10 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    2.9% vs 4.9% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    fail

Profitability

3/6

  • Net margin

    3.1% · ≥ 8%

    fail
  • Operating margin

    4.2% · ≥ 10%

    fail
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    22.0% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • Cash ROIC

    31.0% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • FCF margin

    2.1% · ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $41.6B vs NI $21.9B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

4/5

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    2.3y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    pass
  • Cash cushion

    31% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    0.35 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    pass
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $99.6B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    8% · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    pass

Capital Allocation

2/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    -2.2% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    pass
  • Stock comp restrained

    24% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    fail
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    105% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    fail
  • Repurchases are a habit

    10 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    pass

Valuation Discipline

0/4

  • FCF yield

    1.8% · ≥ 3%

    fail
  • Earnings multiple

    38.7 · P/E ≤ 25

    fail
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    22.0% vs -0.7% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    fail
  • Shareholder yield

    1.8% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    fail

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Distributions exceed FCF

Dividends plus buybacks exceeded free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
2026706,41329,82521,8932.7341,56526,64214,9237,5078,0883,60310,72734,62499,6178,022
2025674,53829,34819,4362.4136,44323,78312,6606,6884,4942,7699,03733,40191,0138,081
2024642,63727,01215,5111.9135,72620,60615,1206,1402,7792,0939,86736,13283,8618,108
2023605,88120,42811,6801.4228,84116,85711,9846,1149,9201,5788,62534,64976,6938,202
2022567,76225,94213,6731.6224,18113,10611,0756,1529,7871,16314,76034,86483,2538,415
2021555,23322,54813,5101.6136,07410,26425,8106,1162,6251,16917,74141,19480,9258,415
2020519,92620,56814,8811.7625,25510,70514,5506,0485,7178549,46543,71474,6698,477
2019510,32921,9576,6700.7627,75310,34417,4096,1027,4107737,72243,52072,4968,705
2018495,76120,4379,8621.1128,33710,05118,2866,1248,2966266,75630,04577,8698,897
2017481,31722,76413,6431.4831,67310,61921,0546,2168,2985966,86736,01577,7989,198
2016482,13024,10514,6941.5527,55211,47716,0756,2944,1124488,70538,21480,5469,509
2015485,65127,14716,3631.7128,56412,17416,3906,1851,0154629,13540,88981,3949,585
2014476,29426,87216,0221.6523,25713,11510,1426,1396,6833887,28141,77176,2559,704
2013468,65127,72516,9991.7025,59112,89812,6935,3617,6003787,78138,39476,34310,017
2012446,50926,49115,6991.5324,25513,51010,7455,0486,2983556,55044,07071,31510,268
2011421,84925,54216,3891.5123,64312,69910,9444,43714,7763717,39540,69268,54210,848
2010408,08524,00214,3701.2626,24912,18414,0654,2177,2767,90733,23170,46811,459
2009404,25422,76713,3811.1523,14711,49911,6483,7463,5217,27531,34965,28511,678
2008377,02321,95212,7311.0620,64214,9375,7053,5867,69166,25012,036

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.