10 Best Stocks For Beginners With Little Money

6. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q2 2024: 96

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is the undisputed global champion of brick and mortar retail through its 100,000+ locations worldwide. It’s been in the grocery retail business since 1962, which has enabled Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) to establish its dominant foothold and become a company with $252 billion in assets and $665 billion in revenue. The firm’s operating footprint and asset base mean that apart from a black swan event, Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is unlikely to recede its presence in the market. However, the heft, which lends it considerable economies of scale and allows it to dominate the market via low prices also means that Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has to be on the lookout for competitors in emerging and high growth industries such as eCommerce. Subsequently, the keys to its hypothesis are traditional same store sales, and the performance of its digital initiatives such as the Walmart Marketplace and associated high margin revenue streams of seller fees and digital advertising. IF Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) delivers in the latter areas, its shares could see significant headwinds and it might very well do so due to its strong logistics footprint that is indispensable for any eCommerce company.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s management commented on the new age businesses during its Q2 2024 earnings call:

“For marketplace and Walmart fulfillment services, in the U.S., we’ve now seen more than 30% growth in each of the past four quarters, as we continued to increase seller counts on the platform by double-digits. Growth from sellers using our Marketplace Fulfillment Services increased 800 basis points in Q2, surpassing 40% penetration. Sales in fashion, toys, hard lines, and home all grew more than 20%. Outside the U.S., we’re seeing similar trends as we enhance our capabilities in product assortment. For example, Flipkart delivered double-digit top line growth and more than doubled the number of units that delivered same day. In Mexico, we grew marketplace items and sellers by around 60%.

And in Chile, we launched cross-border trade, adding sellers from China and the U.S. to our local marketplace offering. Within data analytics and insights, Walmart Data Ventures continues to see strong results as clients value the insights we provide, bringing together consumer behavior with omnichannel sales and inventory trends across our platform. Our client base has increased nearly 200% versus last year as we launch new tools and enter new markets, including the expansion of our Walmart Luminate product in Mexico in May.”