WMT Capital Return Hits $131 Bil in 10 Years
In the last decade, Walmart (WMT) has returned an impressive $131 Bil back to its shareholders through cold, hard cash via dividends and buybacks. Let’s look at some numbers and compare how this payout power stacks up against the market’s biggest capital-return machines.
As it turns out, WMT has returned the 13th highest amount to shareholders in history.
| WMT | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends | $63 Bil | $4.5 Bil |
| Share Repurchase | $68 Bil | $5.5 Bil |
| Total Returned | $131 Bil | $9.1 Bil |
| Total Returned as % of Current Market Cap | 15.9% | 25.1% |
Why should you care? Because dividends and share repurchases represent direct, tangible returns of capital to shareholders. They also signal management’s confidence in the company’s financial health and ability to generate sustainable cash flows. And there are more companies like that. Here is a list of the top 10 companies ranked by total capital returned to shareholders via dividends and stock repurchases.
Top 10 Companies By Total Shareholder Return
| Total Money Returned | As % Of Current Market Cap | via Dividends | via Share Repurchases | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | $847 Bil | 22.3% | $141 Bil | $706 Bil |
| MSFT | $364 Bil | 9.5% | $165 Bil | $199 Bil |
| GOOGL | $343 Bil | 11.6% | $12 Bil | $331 Bil |
| XOM | $212 Bil | 43.4% | $145 Bil | $67 Bil |
| WFC | $208 Bil | 76.8% | $59 Bil | $150 Bil |
| META | $178 Bil | 9.6% | $7.7 Bil | $171 Bil |
| JPM | $174 Bil | 19.8% | $0.0 | $174 Bil |
| ORCL | $163 Bil | 20.6% | $34 Bil | $129 Bil |
| JNJ | $157 Bil | 35.1% | $104 Bil | $52 Bil |
| CVX | $153 Bil | 57.2% | $97 Bil | $55 Bil |
For full ranking, visit Buybacks & Dividends Ranking
What do you notice here? The total capital returned to shareholders as a % of the current market cap appears inversely proportional to growth prospects for reinvestments. Companies like META and MSFT are growing much faster, in a more predictable way, compared to the others, but they have returned a much lower fraction of their market cap to shareholders.
That’s the flip side to high capital returns. Sure, they are attractive, but you have to ask yourself the question: Am I sacrificing growth and sound fundamentals? With that in mind, let’s look at some numbers for WMT. (see Buy or Sell WMT Stock for more details)
WMT Fundamentals
- Revenue Growth: 4.2% LTM and 5.7% last 3-year average.
- Cash Generation: Nearly 2.0% free cash flow margin and 4.2% operating margin LTM.
- Recent Revenue Shocks: The minimum annual revenue growth in the last 3 years for WMT was 4.2%.
- Valuation: WMT trades at a P/E multiple of 38.5
- Opportunity vs S&P: Compared to S&P, you get higher valuation, higher 3 year average revenue growth, and lower margins
| WMT | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Consumer Staples | – |
| Industry | Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail | – |
| PE Ratio | 38.5 | 23.8 |
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| LTM* Revenue Growth | 4.2% | 5.1% |
| 3Y Average Annual Revenue Growth | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| Min Annual Revenue Growth Last 3Y | 4.2% | -0.1% |
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| LTM* Operating Margin | 4.2% | 18.6% |
| 3Y Average Operating Margin | 4.0% | 17.8% |
| LTM* Free Cash Flow Margin | 2.0% | 13.3% |
*LTM: Last Twelve Months
That’s a good overview, but evaluating a stock from an investment perspective involves much more. That is exactly what Trefis High Quality Portfolio does. It is designed to reduce stock-specific risk while giving upside exposure.
WMT Historical Risk
Walmart isn’t immune to big sell-offs either. During the Dot-Com Bubble, it fell about 38%, and sank 26% in the Global Financial Crisis. The 2018 correction saw a 24% dip, while the inflation shock wiped out 26%. Even the Covid pandemic triggered a 13% drop. Strong fundamentals matter, but when the market pulls back hard, Walmart still takes a hit.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 – the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.