Walmart hits $1 trillion market value, joins club dominated by Big Tech giants

Walmart became the first retailer ever to hit $1 trillion in market valuation on Tuesday, riding on a year-long rally that has seen its shares rise nearly 26 percent, putting it in the ranks of Big Tech heavyweights such as Nvidia and Alphabet. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based chain has cashed in on wealthier consumers choosing the convenience of faster deliveries and flocking to the retailer for discretionary categories, such as apparel and furniture. Over the last decade, Walmart’s stock is up 468 percent, compared to a 264 percent rise in the S&P 500 index. U.S. households, particularly low- and middle-income earners, have been under mounting financial strain for some time due to persistent inflation and a cooling job market. Tariffs and uncertainty surrounding the recent U.S. government shutdown have also weighed on spending. The latest milestone for the company came just two weeks after Walmart replaced British drugmaker AstraZeneca in the tech-focused Nasdaq-100 Index, home to the most valuable non-financial companies. The company has bet on artificial intelligence, pouring billions

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