Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

This store is not yet on life support.

Walmart was flat for years but now seems to be getting its MOJO working.

Mega stock buybacks on a cash flow mochine!

why didnt i pick this yet?

As it is with all large retailers, as the general economy improves so will consumer spending, which will lead to higher profits. Not only has the unenployment level dipped down to 8.6%, but initial unenployment benifit numbers are at the same levels they were back in April 2008 and continuing to go down. With the job market improving overall sales should increase, especially for the retailing juggernaut that is Wal-Mart. If the US economy can keep up a GDP growth rate of around 2% this year and next, consumer spending should continue to increase. As far the international level goes, Wal-Mart stores are being very well recieved as they sell their goods cheaper than anywhere else, and the emerging markets their going into, such as India, are seeing a strong emergence of a middle class who will go to these stores and overall increase WMT's bottom line. India currently has a 7.5% GDP growth rate. Even with Europe in a mess, the US economy should stil seem some growth, and the emerging markets offer great growth potencial. Bullish on WMT. Not to mention that their new, smaller stores should provide a nice change of face for Wal-Mart.

i believe wall-mart will improve their output over their input meaning that they will sale more than they import. they have the means and the people power to sale their products at an constant rate.

Customer base continues to feel the ill winds of this economy. Competition from trendier Target and cheaper 99cent segment of retail typifies management's dilemma. What do you do when the competition aims at specific sections of your store, (e.g., Best Buy for electronics), rather than your entire product line.

12/18

S. Walker believes that relative to comparable company Costco, that WAL is undervalued.

Does better then most companies on the S&P 500 during tough economic times.

I noticed something while I was watching TV last week. Wal-Mart was the only company I saw to air ads about both Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers. They have strengths in both platforms, which isn't something you can say about a lot of companies. Like, nobody's lining up at 5 in the morning the day after Thanksgiving to buy from Amazon (where would you even line up? The warehouse?). I don't think this double strength is unique to Wal-Mart, but I do think it speaks to a larger trend.
Wal-Mart is huge. They control the market. As a result, they have a lot of power over suppliers. Here's an example: accounts receivable are turning over much faster than accounts payable. What this means is that customers are paying them quicker than they have to pay their suppliers, which is a huge advantage.
I think that whatever happens to the economy, they'll be in good position. They have a reputation as a cost leader in the retail industry, so if people have less to spend they'll be more inclined to look at Wal-Mart, but they also have deals on higher-end products and their reputation is no longer just about being cheap.
Couple that with a solid dividend and earnings estimates that are not really in line with what we've seen in the past five years (or quarter over quarter this year), and I think this is a solid deal. I'm more than happy to get in at 12 times earnings.
I don't really have anything to say about moving into new markets such as China because I think those markets are so different that they would have to change a lot to enter, but I think they're well positioned to continue to dominate domestically.

outperform

stable and possesive

Slow economic recovery will slowly benefit Wal-Mart

Same store traffic seems to be on the upswing.

Love me some price matching.

Because it is #6 in the Top Company pages on Facebook

foreign growth is still there, and will provide a hedge against dollar weakness. Plus, just think of the endless entertainment provided by the chinese version of "people of walmart"! I cringe at the sheer volume of mullets and spandex clothing once other cultures embrace these key bits of americana.

Dividend Aristocrat