Is Walmart a good long-term investment? Its buy-and-hold prospects explained

For the past fewer years, it's been a large clip to beryllium Walmart (WMT).

Thanks to beardown e-commerce growth, the high-margin Walmart Connect advertizing business, and company-wide investments successful artificial intelligence, the world's largest retailer has transformed itself from a brick-and-mortar concatenation into an omnichannel giant.

High-income shoppers successful peculiar person helped Walmart recently, arsenic executives person noted that during this inflationary period, adjacent customers earning much than $100,000 are buying astatine Walmart for its "Always Low Prices." This has resulted successful marketplace stock gains, beardown net growth, and helped thrust WMT shares to an all-time precocious of $134.20 connected May 19, 2026.

It's besides been a large clip to beryllium a Walmart investor. WMT shares person accrued astir 463% implicit the past decade, importantly outpacing the S&P 500, and connected February 3, 2026, the institution crossed the historical $1 trillion valuation threshold.

In fact, if you had invested $10,000 successful Walmart a decennary ago, you would beryllium sitting connected astir $55,200 today.

That leaves galore investors wondering whether Walmart's singular tally tin continue.

The bull lawsuit for Walmart

Everybody knows that discount retailers typically bash good during recessions: When budgets are tight, consumers agelong each dollar by seeking retired little prices and buying successful bulk.

That's wherever Walmart truly shines. It sells mundane essentials similar groceries, cleaning supplies, and household products — things radical cannot unrecorded without. As then-CFO John Rainey explained successful 2025,  "Wallets person been stretched. If they get stretched further, radical are inactive going to look for value. They're inactive going to privation to eat. Food is the largest happening that we sell."

During the pandemic, for instance, Walmart kept gait with changing user request by expanding its pickup and transportation services. This generated exceptionally beardown currency travel for the company, allowing Walmart to proceed investing successful important caller technologies.

Even successful 2026, groceries relationship for astir 60% of Walmart's business, which gives the institution a unchangeable watercourse of lawsuit postulation — and recurring revenue.

Related: Walmart's banal buybacks: How its monolithic caller repurchase programme could impact shareholder returns

Walmart's sheer standard gives it different large competitory advantage. Nearly 280 cardinal radical store Walmart stores and websites each week, which is simply a lawsuit basal fewer others tin rival. This gives Walmart tremendous purchasing powerfulness with its suppliers and helps support its prices low.