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How do professionals look at WMT stock?

Walmart: 24-of-25 analysts rate it Buy, the average target is $136 — and the business runs on a 3% margin

Revenue +7.3%. Earnings +18.8%. Financial Scorecard: 2 of 4 strong, with Profit Quality flagged Weak — Walmart runs on a 3.1% profit margin and a 1.0% free cash flow margin. P/E 41.8. 11% below the 52-week high. 27 analysts: 98% Buy, 2% Hold, 0% Sell — average target $136.09 vs current $120.27. Hit ratio 92%, average 566 days to hit.

Educational content only — not financial advice. Always do your own research. Fundamentals from restnvest (SEC 10-K, 2026-03-13) · Analyst data from Anachart (2026-05-26)
omnichannel-retailscale-economiesmembership-programs
Three lenses on Walmart Inc.. Are they aligned?
The business Mixed
Financial health 2/4 · Revenue +7.3% · FCF margin 1% · ROIC 24.1%
The stock Caution
Valuation 2/4 · P/E 41.8x · 11% below 52-week high · Timing 2/3
The analysts Strongly Bullish
27 analysts · 98.21% Buy · 1.79% Hold · 0% Sell · Avg target $136.09 (+13.2% upside)
Near-uniform analyst Buy ratings, a 3% profit margin, and a 42x P/E that asks scale to do the rest
Walmart is the rare large-cap where almost every analyst rates the stock Buy and most recent targets have been raised, even as the stock pulled back 11% from its high. The business is steady but financially mixed — strong growth and debt safety, weak profit quality — and the price tag is rich for a retailer. The analyst panel is treating Walmart as a quality compounder. The valuation is treating it as one too.
The case for owning Walmart
What the business fundamentals say
Mixed
From the 10-K filing · 2026-03-13
Investment thesis — WMT
Strong emphasis
Moderate
Strategic themes
Omnichannel RetailingAI and Technology IntegrationGlobal ExpansionMembership Programs
Competitive moats
Brand PowerScale EconomiesNetwork Effects
Market opportunity

Walmart sells into the broadest possible consumer market — groceries, general merchandise, and health and wellness — with about 280 million customers shopping its 10,900 stores each week. Operations span 19 countries across three reportable segments. The expansion vector is digital: walmart.com, the Walmart+ membership program, and integrated last-mile delivery, all aimed at converting existing store traffic into higher-frequency, higher-margin online relationships without ceding the in-store base.

Value creation

Walmart creates value through extreme scale economics rather than premium pricing. Its everyday-low-price and everyday-low-cost commitments compound over years as procurement leverage and logistics density widen the gap with smaller competitors. The model deliberately runs on thin margins — 3.1% profit margin, 1.0% free cash flow margin — and is judged on whether scale and capital discipline turn that thin slice into compounding shareholder value. A 24.1% return on equity reflects that combination of modest margins with high asset turnover and aggressive buybacks.

Extracted from SEC 10-K. Full thesis on restnvest →
Stage 2 · Financial performance
Financial scorecard
2 of 4 strong
Growth quality
Scalable Growth
Profit quality
Weak Profit Quality
Debt safety
Comfortable Coverage
Owner value quality
High Returns, Limited Reinvestment
Rev growth +7.3% · FCF margin 1% · ROIC 24.1%
Bottom line: 27 analysts cover Walmart with a 92% historical hit rate, 98% Buy ratings, and an average target $16 above the current price. The most recent visible updates were almost all target raises.
versus
The case for caution
What the stock price and analysts say
Caution
Stage 3 · Valuation
Valuation scorecard
2 of 4 sensible
✗ Price discipline
Neutral Entry — 11% below 52-week high, but above 200-day
✗ Price tag
Caution — P/E 41.8 is high for a 3% profit margin retailer
✓ Capital discipline
Sensible — disciplined buybacks and capex
✓ Doubling potential
Sensible — durable compounding at scale
Stage 4 · Timing
Timing signals
2 of 3 supportive
Trend
Breakout attempt
Momentum
Strong but volatile
Stretch
Bounce setup
Trend: Highs strengthening but lows mixed — momentum without a clear foundation
Momentum: Short-term and long-term pressure improving, but the gap is widening — strength with noise
Stretch: RSI balanced, pressure cooling — neither overbought nor oversold
Analyst conviction · Anachart · 2026-05-26
Where do analysts stand — and how much runway is left?

Y = price target. X = days remaining on call (negative = past expected hit window). Bubble size = Anachart Performance Score. Dashed vertical = the expected-hit boundary.

Buy
Hold
Sell
Upper-left · Fading signal
High target, window closing.
Upper-right · Most interesting
Bold call, plenty of runway.
Lower-left · Stale or wrong
Modest target, window closed.
Lower-right · Cautious coverage
Modest target, time left.

Chart shows 15 of 27 covering analysts. See all on Anachart →

Bottom line: P/E of 41.8 on a retailer with a 3.1% profit margin and a 1.0% free cash flow margin. 11% below 52-week high. Restnvest flags Profit Quality as Weak — there is little operational slack.

The reconciliation

Walmart's analyst coverage and its fundamental profile tell two stories that lean on the same idea underneath. The analyst story is the easier one: 98% Buy, 92% hit rate, average target 13% above the current price, and a coverage panel that has been raising targets through the recent pullback rather than cutting. By every measure of professional sentiment, this is one of the most agreed-on names in the market. The fundamental story is more textured. Revenue growth of 7.3% is solid at $725 billion in trailing revenue, and earnings growth of 18.8% is genuinely strong. Debt Safety reads Comfortable Coverage. But Profit Quality is flagged Weak for a reason — the business converts only 3.1% of revenue into net income and 1.0% into free cash flow. A 24.1% return on equity reflects scale and capital discipline (and significant buybacks); return on assets at 6.9% is the more conservative read. The stock has held up well — 11% off its 52-week high — and trades at 41.8 times trailing earnings. That multiple is the bridge between the two stories: it values Walmart as a quality compounder, exactly the way the analyst panel does, but it leaves little operational slack. The lone Hold rating (Stifel at $91, set in April 2025 and not updated since) sits 24% below the current price as a reminder that skeptics exist, even if they have gone quiet. For a long-term investor, the question is whether a 3% profit margin and a 1% free cash flow margin can carry a 42x earnings multiple.

Sources
Fundamentals: restnvest — SEC 10-K, 2026-03-13. | Analysts: Anachart — 2026-05-26.
This is educational content only — not financial advice.