Walmart

Walmart Inc. is an American retail company based in Bentonville, Arkansas, that operates discount stores, supercenters, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce websites in the United States and 18 other countries. For its fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, it reported total revenues of $713.2 billion, according to its annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It is one of the largest private employers in the world.

History of Walmart

The businesses of Walmart’s founders began in 1945, when Sam Walton opened a franchise Ben Franklin variety store in Newport, Arkansas. In 1946 his brother James Walton opened a similar store in Versailles, Missouri. Until 1962 the company ran only variety stores, which sell a broad range of small household goods.

In 1962 it began opening discount stores, and the first Walmart store opened that year in Rogers, Arkansas. The company completed its initial public offering, the first sale of its shares to outside investors, in 1970.

The retailer then added new formats. It opened its first Sam’s Club, a membership warehouse store, in 1983, and its first supercenter, a store that combines general merchandise with a full grocery department, in 1988. The first Walmart Neighborhood Market, a smaller grocery-focused store, followed in 1998.

Walmart began international expansion in 1991 through a joint venture in Mexico. In 1996 it launched its first e-commerce sites, walmart.com and samsclub.com. In 2007 it introduced a Site-to-Store service that let customers buy online and collect items at a store, and in 2018 it took majority stakes in the Indian companies Flipkart and PhonePe.

Products and services of Walmart

Walmart’s annual report describes three reportable segments. Walmart U.S. is the largest, with 4,611 stores in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Sam’s Club U.S. runs membership warehouse clubs. Walmart International operates in 18 countries outside the United States.

Walmart U.S. sells consumer products under the Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands and through walmart.com and its mobile app. Its stores are mostly supercenters, which numbered 3,566 and averaged about 178,000 square feet. The company also operates 351 discount stores and 694 neighborhood markets and other small formats in the United States.

Beyond groceries and household goods, the company sells online through its websites and apps. Its stores and fulfillment centers hold the goods, so effective inventory management is central to both store and online sales. The company also earns membership income, and it offers pickup and delivery services at more than 8,400 locations around the world.

The annual report says its strategies increasingly include growth in membership, advertising, marketplace and fulfillment services, which sit alongside its core retail business.

The annual report says Walmart is using artificial intelligence tools to support customer and member experiences, employee productivity and operating efficiency.

Corporate structure and operations

Walmart’s principal offices are at 1 Customer Drive in Bentonville. Its common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol WMT.

As of January 31, 2026, the company had 10,955 retail units worldwide, of which 5,678 were owned and 5,277 were leased. Of these, 5,743 were in Walmart International. It also operated 371 distribution facilities, which handle storage and shipping for stores and online orders, including 192 in the United States.

The company has about 2.1 million employees, which Walmart calls associates, with around 1.6 million in the United States and 0.5 million in other countries.

Total revenues were $648.1 billion in fiscal 2024, $681.0 billion in fiscal 2025 and $713.2 billion in fiscal 2026, an increase of 4.7 percent in the latest year. Net sales made up $706.4 billion of the 2026 figure, and membership and other income added $6.75 billion. Walmart U.S. net sales were $483.0 billion, or 68 percent of consolidated net sales.

Operating income was $29.8 billion in fiscal 2026, up from $29.3 billion the year before. Consolidated net income attributable to Walmart was $21.9 billion, compared with $19.4 billion in fiscal 2025 and $15.5 billion in fiscal 2024.

The international business began with the 1991 joint venture in Mexico and had grown to 18 countries by January 31, 2026. In India, the company says its stakes in Flipkart, an online retailer, and PhonePe, a digital payments company, expanded its eCommerce and digital presence.

Impact of Walmart

Walmart changed retail by competing on low prices and scale. Its large distribution centers and tight control of its supply chain allowed it to move goods quickly and keep costs down. Many suppliers and competitors have had to adapt to its purchasing power and logistics systems.

The company is a major employer in the United States, where about 1.6 million people work for it. It is also a major buyer from manufacturers and farmers worldwide, so changes in its sourcing rules can affect many producers.

Its online growth shows how traditional retailers are adapting. By using its stores as pickup points and bases for delivery, Walmart combines physical and digital shopping in what it calls omnichannel retail.

Criticism and controversies

Walmart’s annual report describes several legal matters. It accrued about $3.3 billion in fiscal 2023 for certain opioid-related settlements, and the report says the full liability had been paid by January 31, 2025. Walmart also continues to defend other opioid-related cases in U.S. and Canadian courts, brought in connection with its pharmacy operations.

In the United Kingdom, former and current Asda store employees have brought equal value claims, arguing that work in stores and in distribution centers deserves equal pay. Walmart sold Asda but kept an indemnification obligation for the matter. The report also lists a lawsuit filed in February 2026 by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general over the treatment of independent contractor drivers on its delivery platform.

The company also reports a Mexican antitrust matter involving the competition regulator COFECE and its Mexican subsidiary, and a U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation in Pennsylvania of its compliance with consumer fraud prevention and anti-money laundering rules for money transfer services. These are described as legal proceedings, not findings of wrongdoing.

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 4, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue