This venerable retailer is going big in the ecommerce and automation arenas. The company has just partnered with robotics company Symbiotic to automate 25 regional distribution centers with upgrades including the addition of “high-speed mobile bots” and “high-speed palletizing robotics.”
Walmart Inc. (WMT)
From Internet Wealth Builder
Walmart is the world’s largest bricks and mortar retailer with 11,400 stores in 26 countries, plus a rapidly expanding e-commerce operation. It employs some 2.2 million people worldwide and had revenue in the 2021 fiscal year of $559 billion.
Walmart recently released results for the first quarter of fiscal 2022. Total revenue was $138.3 billion, an increase of $3.7 billion, or 2.7% over the same period last year. Revenue was negatively affected by approximately $4.2 billion related to recent divestitures in Walmart International. Net income per diluted share was $0.97, down from $1.40 in the same period last year. The divestiture of businesses in the UK and Japan contributed $0.15 a share to the decline.
Consolidated operating income was $6.9 billion, an increase of 32.3%. eCommerce sales were up 37% and have doubled in the past two years. Walmart is seeking to expand this part of the business even more through its partnership with DroneUp, a major US drone services provider.
In April, Walmart also announced an investment in Cruise, an all-electric autonomous vehicle company. The goal is to achieve the fastest possible delivery, whether by air or land.
The stock pays a quarterly dividend of $0.55 a share ($2.20 annually).
Buy. The shares hit a year-to-date low of $127.33 in early March but have rallied since.
The stock is still trading well below its 52-week high.
Gordon Pape, Internet Wealth Builder, buildingwealth.ca, 1-888-287-8229, July 5, 2021