Walmart’s Total Return From 5 Milestones: Jet.com to the All-Time High Trey Thoelcke Fri, October 16, 2026 at 7:55 AM EDT 5 min read WMT +1.47% ^GSPC +0.33% AMZN +0.27% Explore stocks on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
Walmart's best entry wasn't a rally. Buying at the adjusted $20.55 price from the 2016 Jet.com deal would have turned $1,000 into $5,725 today.
Buying Walmart at its May 2026 all-time high left investors down 12%, proving big headlines often mark the worst entry points.
Walmart's 10-year return of 511% crushed the S&P 500's 263%, but a P/E near 43 and a 3.1% net margin flag real valuation risk.
Just released. Our analysts combed the entire stock market and named the ten best stocks to buy right now, and Walmart didn't make the cut. Enter your email to see the names that beat WMT. The report is free. Enter your email and see if any of your stocks made the cut.
The Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) events with the biggest headlines turned out to be some of the worst days to buy the stock. Below, we follow $1,000 from five points to a common end price of $117.67, quoted in premarket trading on October 16, 2026. Entry prices are adjusted for splits and dividends, so they show what a buy-and-hold investor actually got.
Walmart announced the Jet.com deal on August 8, 2016. It was the company's answer to the dominant online leader in e-commerce, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), and many people questioned it at the time. The adjusted entry price was $20.55. Since then, the stock has gained 472.57%, so $1,000 became $5,725.70. That makes it the best entry on this list. Global eCommerce now accounts for 24% of total net sales.
On February 26, 2020, the adjusted price was $34.63. Walmart was named an essential retailer and kept its stores open while much of retail shut down. That entry is up 239.78%, turning $1,000 into $3,397.80.
Why Didn't WMT Make The Top 10 List?
24/7 Wall St has helped investors make money for over two decades, and our top analysts just finished ranking the definitive Top 10 Stocks To Buy Now. Not the ten biggest companies. Not the ten everyone is arguing about. The ten best stocks to buy right now.
The report is free, and you can see why we think each stock is a top investment today.
Enter Your Email and See the Ten →
On February 21, 2023, John David Rainey, Walmart's CFO, marked fifty consecutive years of annual dividend increases in the company release: "We're proud to be increasing our annual dividend for the 50th consecutive year, a milestone for our company." That run puts Walmart in the Dividend Kings club. (We ranked ten of them by valuation in a free report.) From an adjusted $47.05, the stock returned 150.11%, so $1,000 grew to $2,501.10.
The split took effect on February 26, 2024. This split drew heavy retail attention and a wave of coverage, though the underlying business stayed the same. From an adjusted $57.97, the stock has returned 102.98%, and $1,000 is now worth $2,029.80.
Walmart hit its modern all-time high on May 19, 2026, at an adjusted $133.88. The stock has since dropped 12.11%, leaving a $1,000 investment at $878.90. Shares have gained 8.86% over the past month after Deutsche Bank called the stock a Buy, but that rally hasn't erased the loss.
S&P 500 figures are price-only and exclude dividends.
Year to Date: 6.29% vs. S&P 500's 13.18%
1-Year: $1,000 became $1,088.30 (8.83%); S&P 500 $1,160.30 (16.03%)
5-Year: $2,673.40 (167.34%); S&P 500 $1,731 (73.1%)
10-Year: $6,114.10 (511.41%); S&P 500 $3,634 (263.4%)
The buyer at the modern all-time high is losing money, while the Jet.com buyer has multiplied their stake more than five times. Milestone headlines report a move that has already happened. What you paid counted far more than how long you held.
Walmart's upside depends on whether its higher-margin businesses keep compounding. Last quarter, global advertising grew 38%, membership fees rose 17%, and management raised its fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $2.80 to $2.87. Downside risks center on a thin margin of safety. A P/E near 43 is a steep price for a retailer with a 3.1% net margin, and tariff refunds lifted last quarter's results.
The data favor patience. The business is performing well, but these five entry points show that buying with discipline has paid better than buying on headlines.
If you have cash sitting in your account right now, give this two minutes. After more than two decades of helping investors beat the market, our top analysts at 24/7 Wall St. put together a definitive report on the Top 10 Stocks To Buy Today. And WMT wasn't one of them.
They combed the entire market. It's not 10 ideas, not 10 stocks everyone is talking about, it's what their research points to as the 10 best stocks to buy right now, and it's free. Read more here and see which stocks made the list -->>
Contact editorial@247wallst.com for any questions or corrections.
