Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT)

It's walmart. They are everywhere. For some reason people think they are cheaper always, and that was true a few years ago. But consumers aren't noticing that they have been hiking up their prices big time during the past 12-18 months. Groceries alone appear to be about 20% more expensive then a year ago. The quality of their products is falling very low, but people are accepting that as the norm now! I live right outside of Bentonville Arkansas, Wally World head quarters and I hate the place. But they have the consumer pinned down, and now they can shake em down for all their cash,

Poised to have a great Christmas season. Also spending lots of money in a much-needed effort to clean up its corporate image.

I agree with another Fool, they will need to begin focus on online selling as we begin to move away from Walmart's "Always Low Prices" and move to Google and Bing Shopping

When I look at a company like Wal-Mart and I see them attempting to enter the discount online marketplace to compete with the likes of Amazon, this is a major red flag to me. This stock has gone nowhere recently, despite the fact that, we are on the "outskirts" or the worst recession in recent memory. I can't tell you exactly how their numbers have been performing, though one would assume their business would increase as consumers become more thrifty. Drawing in and retaining customers who have never shopped at WMT before the recession seems to me what they should be focusing on. The fact that they are trying to compete with Amazon in selling discount books online shows me that upper management has their priorities out of whack. Regardless of whether or not they are successful in this attempt, I doubt they will be, it will not have any impact on their bottom line.

good buy

I think this one outperforms in the near term.

I believe wallmart will out perform in the next several months to a year in the recession but will be on a steady decline after that, its a horrid place, and remarkably unpleasant, but with the economy the way it is, it will thrive on the broken and downtrodden during the christmas holidays

Walmart outperforms everyone.....in value.

I see the power of wal-mart diminishing as the world economic climate changes. If anything I see them staying flat. How much cheap plastic crap can we consume beyond what we already do?

Their "Always Low Prices" keep people coming back.

it wont outperform the S&P

Christmas season will be the measure. People will be looking for low prices gifts and wal mart will be there.

Undervalued versus sector.

Unfairly beaten down. Still a solid company that can expand overseas. Will recover.

In my mind this is a contrarian pick that may benefit from food and energy price deflation first becoming stable and then eventually seeing prices rise. I would also favor a spin-off of Sam's club to shareholders to benefit from higher multiples accorded to that type of business (think COST).

Gathered around a conference room, I asked my fellow portfolio managers what company could we invest in, that has cheep products and will benefit from a possible thrifty Christmas season. They all answered quickly Wal-Mart. When I asked the question I did not have a particular company in mind but was thinking in general, a consumer staples company. The answer seemed obvious and I believe is obvious, so putting aside any prior biases against the worlds’ largest retailer, I plan to explain why Wal-Mart should be at the top of your investing list this Christmas season…….

Click below to read the rest of the free report

http://stocklook.blogspot.com

This stock has sailed through the sharp stock market correction of the last year or so without giving up much value. Of course the shares have basically flat-lined for the last 10 or so years, but eventually a weaker US dollar and the underlying growth of the business may allow some stock price appreciation...

Opening new, larger stores takes a big investment.

This is a company that has constantly made itself an everyday choice for consumers. Their new advertising campaign is sure to boost their profits and benefit their stores.