A Massive Profit Generating Machine

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It happens to be a love or hate relationship that people have with Walmart stores. Many people will declare they hate it. Yet at the same, they will still shop there. Not that Walmart is the cheapest when it comes to all things. But it is certainly cheaper on many things, and to not shop there for any reason is to literally toss money out into the street. As such, because of the massive profit generating machine that Walmart happens to be, I think owning stock in the company makes sense. Walmart operates 10,500 stores in 19 countries. Walmart employs 2.2 million people worldwide, 1.6 million of them in the U.S. Walmart is a $437 billion dollar company. Walmart generates nearly $700 billion a year in annual revenue. Walmart enjoys profits of nearly $156 billion a year. Walmart serves 230 million customers a week. Sure, Walmart may be the biggest now and that may not last forever. However, I don't think Walmart goes anywhere any time soon for many decades. It does not offer the greatest dividend, paying out 1.4% or just $2.28 per share a year. Still, it is a consistent dividend payer, an "aristocrat" stock that has paid dividends and increased dividends for the past 25+ years. It is also worth noting that the combined wealth of the Walton family heirs is $247 billion, and if Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, were alive today, he would be the richest man in the world. I am happy to have it in my portfolio.