Walmart (WMT -1.22%) stock gained 13% in November according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. It reported strong third-quarter earnings amid a challenging operating environment.
Shifting into new trends
Walmart is the largest company in the world by sales, so it's all the more impressive that it can keep building on top of that. It is constantly upgrading its stores and platforms with new product lines, expense management, new ventures, and more. There are always things to do to function better and new trends to run with.
Walmart hasn't always been the best at that, but it's on fire these days. Even actions such as closing its healthcare division demonstrate active management and lead to positive outcomes when they're the right decisions for generating growth and allocating resources. Over the past few months, Walmart has made greater investments in its e-commerce, and it's really taking off. Although Walmart's e-commerce business is nowhere near as large as Amazon's, and it wouldn't be able to overtake it in any foreseeable time frame, Walmart has a distinct edge over Amazon in its massive network of stores. Amazon has tried to incorporate a physical presence into its platform, offering some limited omnichannel features, but they haven't taken off. Walmart, though, has the physical presence as part of its makeup, and it offers the omnichannel experience that not only Amazon can't match, but few others stores can. Walmart has more than 4,600 stores in the U.S., a number that almost no other retailer can compare with, and it's finally using that to its advantage.
Total comparable sales increased 5.5% year over year in the 2025 fiscal third quarter, which ended Oct. 31, and e-commerce sales increased 27%, while 75% of its U.S. market share expansion was driven by households earning over $100,000, which aren't Walmart's core customers. But Walmart is gaining share of this demographic, which is willing to pay more for convenience, by offering a greater mix of convenient, and more expensive, omnichannel services.
Ready for the future
Walmart is in fine position to keep this up. Like everyone else, it's getting into artificial intelligence (AI), and it's using its vast data stores to improve operations and product assortment. It's taking technology to a new level in its Sam's Club warehouse stores that compete with Costco Wholesale by moving to a completely cashierless checkout.
Walmart isn't a growth stock anymore, but it's up 80% this year, crushing the market. It's a strong value play for the long-term investor.
