Walmart’s market capitalisation has surpassed $1 trillion (€850 billion), putting the largest US retail chain in an exclusive club dominated by tech groups.
The Arkansas-based company reached the milestone on Tuesday, capping a rally in which its shares have more than doubled in the past two years, outpacing the blue-chip S&P 500 index.
Walmart has spent tens of billions of dollars to develop an ecommerce business that is now a credible competitor to Amazon.
Founded by Sam Walton with a single store in 1962, the retailer has expanded to nearly 11,000 stores worldwide.
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Analysts forecast Walmart’s annual revenue will have topped $700 billion when it reports results this month, though they expect that Amazon’s figure will surpass the retain chain’s for the first time, according to Visible Alpha.
Walmart’s market valuation remains well below the $2.6 trillion of Amazon market, the biggest company in ecommerce.
David Schick, managing partner of research firm Optimal Advisory, said that Walmart’s “mix of labour, sourcing and technology” underpinned its success.
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He added that the company had benefited from “investing during uncertain times” while competing with “formidable” rivals such as Amazon and Costco.
Walmart joins nine other US public companies with a market cap above $1tn. Nvidia tops the list, with a market value of about $4.5 trillion, followed by Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Broadcom.
Shares in the retailer rose as much as 1.6 per cent to $126 in early trading on Tuesday.
Walmart breached the $1 trillion mark during the chain’s first week under chief executive John Furner, who took over after his predecessor Doug McMillon retired at the weekend after more than a decade at the helm.
Furner, a veteran Walmart executive, has been outspoken about investing further in automation and AI.
In a symbolic and strategic shift that reflected its digital focus, Walmart recently switched its stock market listing to the Nasdaq exchange and joined the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index, drawing passive funds that track the benchmark.
Walmart, a leading US goods importer, has contended with tariffs imposed by US president Donald Trump in the past year.
Walmart and its suppliers have been absorbing about two-thirds of tariff costs for general merchandise, but passing on another third to consumers, resulting in a 7 per cent to 7.5 per cent price increase for these items, Jefferies estimated.
The company’s surging valuation will further increase the wealth of the Walton family, who as a group form company’s largest shareholder. Their 44 per cent stake in Walmart is now worth about $443 billion.
Walmart and Berkshire Hathaway are the only non-tech US companies valued at more than $1 trillion, according to Bloomberg data.
Eli Lilly briefly joined the $1 trillion club last year but has slipped below the threshold over the past few months. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
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