Stock market investors often have to make a trade-off between stability and growth. That’s because the fastest-growing companies often have riskier business models, which leads to more volatility. That said, Walmart (WMT 0.79%) has recently begun turning this axiom on its head.
Shares in the blue-chip retailer have risen by an impressive 401% over the past 10 years, far outpacing the S&P 500’s return of just 251%. And while the company has practically no exposure to glamorous growth opportunities such as generative AI, its massive scale and booming e-commerce business have helped keep its stock relevant.
Let’s dig deeper to decide whether Walmart still has millionaire-maker potential.
Image source: Getty Images.
The bluest of blue chip stocks
It’s hard to think of a more stable and established American business than Walmart. Since its founding in 1962, the big-box retailer has leveraged its immense scale and distribution networks to offer unparalleled selection and low prices to consumers all over the country.
And while investors may be tempted to overlook the grocery business because of its extremely low profit margins, often hovering between 1% and 3%, Walmart makes it attractive by spreading a tiny bit of profit across tens of billions of items, creating a winning recipe that keeps both customers and shareholders coming back for more. The company’s business model is also relatively safe because groceries are consumer staple items that tend to maintain demand, even in economic downturns.
Walmart’s safety is a big selling point at this time of economic uncertainty related to the war in Iran and rising fuel costs. In March, analysts at Goldman Sachs put the 12-month recession probability at 30%.
But while the bad news seems to dominate the headlines, America’s macroeconomic situation remains extremely unpredictable. In March, U.S. payroll jobs data beat expectations, adding 172,000 jobs and bringing the unemployment rate to just 4.3%. The economy therefore appears to be expanding instead of contracting. But Walmart can thrive in either scenario.
Today’s Change
(-0.79%) $-0.95
Current Price
$118.88
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$946B
Day’s Range
$118.00 – $120.50
52wk Range
$93.43 – $135.16
Volume
29.2K
Avg Vol
20.4M
Gross Margin
23.48%
Dividend Yield
0.81%
What about the growth opportunities?
Because Walmart is a mature company in a highly established industry, investors shouldn’t expect it to deliver eye-popping growth. The bigger a business is, the more effort is required to move the needle. And over the long term, most of Walmart’s expansion is likely to come from slow, reliable trends such as GDP, population growth, and even inflation. That said, management is taking some successful steps to speed things up a little.
One of the most promising opportunities is in e-commerce, where years of heavy investment are beginning to pay off by creating a business that has become a serious player with a U.S. market share of 9.2%. Walmart’s e-commerce segment grew 26% year over year in the first quarter, helping the company’s overall top line grow 7.3% to $177.8 billion in the period.
Despite being somewhat late to the party, Walmart already has a massive economic moat in e-commerce because of its logistics network and a web of thousands of brick-and-mortar stores that serve as delivery hubs for nearby communities. The company’s membership platform, Walmart+, also helps ensure consumer loyalty through a variety of perks and loss leaders, similar to the strategy Amazon Prime employs.
And while none of these efforts will transform Walmart into a hypergrowth tech stock, they help the company maintain its dominant market share in retail and ensure it doesn’t stagnate despite its maturity.
Is Walmart a millionaire-maker stock?
With a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 41, Walmart stock is quite expensive compared with the S&P 500 average of 22, so it probably won’t make you a millionaire anytime soon. That said, the company deserves a premium because of its quality and safe business. And over the long haul, investors should expect it to continue outperforming the index, especially as growth drivers such as e-commerce continue to scale up.
Southwest and Singapore Airlines Launch Interline Partnership
Southwest Airlines and Singapore Airlines have partnered to offer travelers around the globe single-ticket journeys to and from the United States, connecting to places where Southwest and Singapore Airlines fly.
The SIA Group, which includes Singapore Airlines and Scoot, operates service to more than 130 destinations in 35 countries and territories, and flies between its global hub, Singapore Changi Airport and three airports in the United States served by Southwest—Los Angeles (LAX), Seattle/Tacoma (SEA), and San Francisco (SFO). In those shared gateway airports, international travelers can now seamlessly connect to nearly 120 airports in the Southwest network. Tickets are available through Singapore Airlines, travel agents, and travel websites.
“Singapore Airlines becomes the eighth carrier in our partnership portfolio exemplified by its quality and reach. These carriers are facilitating access to our network for a growing global audience drawn to our improved onboard product and increasingly choosing to fly with us,” said Andrew Watterson, Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer. “Journeys that pair Southwest and Singapore Airlines not only connect new geographies but also create consistent high-quality Customer experiences.”
Including Singapore Airlines, Southwest now has eight active partnerships with overseas carriers connecting travel between its network and places across the globe in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
United Wholesale Mortgage is making CEO Mat Ishbia available for a deposition in a lawsuit regarding its All-In mandate, relenting after a judge’s scolding.
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U.S. District Judge Terrence G. Berg found the lender in contempt Monday for repeatedly refusing to make the CEO available to testify, since the court asked UWM to do so in December. Atlantic Trust Mortgage, which UWM accuses of violating All-In, wants to depose Ishbia because of his purported firsthand knowledge of the contract’s liquidated damages provision.
The order requires Ishbia to appear for a deposition no longer than four hours within the next 30 days in Oakland County, Michigan, where his company is headquartered. The wholesale leader is seeking at least $355,000 in damages from Atlantic Trust for allegedly doing business with two rivals at the same time as UWM.
United Wholesale Mortgage CEO and president Mat Ishbia speaks at the UWM Live event Thursday, May 14, 2024 at the company’s headquarters in Pontiac, Michigan. Photographer: Andrew Martinez/National Mortgage News
Photographer: Andrew Martinez/National Mortgage News
The Ishbia deposition would represent a rare questioning under oath of a mortgage CEO in recent industry litigation. To penalize the lender for its delays, the judge ordered UWM to pay for Atlantic Trust’s attorney’s fees spent specifically litigating the deposition item.
“From the court’s perspective, this appeared to be a contumacious stratagem because by then the court had twice ordered UWM to conduct the deposition,” wrote Judge Berg, describing the tactic by UWM’s counsel as disobedient.
In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for UWM said the company remains confident in its position in the case, and that the deposition shouldn’t detract from the substance of the matter. The company had previously contested the deposition request as unnecessary, burdensome and an attempt by Atlantic Trust to gain publicity.
“While UWM disagrees with this finding, UWM respects the court’s order and will comply with the order,” the statement read.
Jeffrey Morganroth, managing partner of Morganroth and Morganroth and counsel for Atlantic Trust, shared a statement on behalf of the lender, in which they emphasized Ishbia’s central role in the All-In dispute.
“It is unusual to get to the point of contempt rulings regarding discovery issues, but UWM/Ishbia’s gamesmanship and obstruction have been blatant and continuous,” the statement read.
UWM’s court tactics
UWM filed its breach of contract suit in January 2024. Atlantic Trust has denied wrongdoing, stating it then relied on UWM’s promise of a 60-day trial period to work with other lenders in violation of the All-In contract.
Although Judge Berg ordered UWM in December to produce Ishbia for a deposition, Atlantic Trust reported in March that the lender wasn’t complying with the order. When the court reaffirmed its order, UWM filed an emergency motion, and offered up other executives to be deposed.
In siding with Atlantic Trust, Judge Berg cited the defendant’s reference to Ishbia’s public comments stating that “I can control my business model.”
“The factual record in this case suggests that he was the primary, if not sole decisionmaker in adopting this initiative and the liquidated damages provision,” wrote Berg.
UWM’s similar breach of contract lawsuits against brokerages District Lending and America’s Moneyline remain pending in federal courts. Although the lender hasn’t secured final victories in those cases, it squashed dismissal bids. The company has also secured a small settlement from another alleged All-In violator, and survived an antitrust lawsuit in 2025.
Pedro Winter has been appointed Global Head of Creation and Co-Managing Director of Because Music France.
The founder of Ed Banger Records and former manager of Daft Punk is joining Because Music in Paris, the company announced on Tuesday (June 9).
In his Paris-based role, Winter will oversee front-office activities for the French territory as Co-Managing Director, with responsibility for marketing, catalog, promotion, A&R, visual, digital, commercial, D2C, sync, merchandising and brands.
He will also serve as Global Head of Creation, supervising audiovisual and sonic creative output worldwide.
The appointment extends a collaboration between Ed Banger and Because Music that began in 2005, according to the company.
“Co-‘ means coexisting, co-leading, collaborating – being and acting together. This dynamic is fully in line with the shared history between Because Music and Ed Banger Records.”
Pedro Winter
“I am very honored and proud of this appointment and look forward to further strengthening our close collaboration with all teams,” said Pedro Winter, Global Head of Creation and Co-Managing Director of Because Music France and CEO of Ed Banger Records.
“‘Co-‘ means coexisting, co-leading, collaborating – being and acting together. This dynamic is fully in line with the shared history between Because Music and Ed Banger Records, which spans more than 20 years.”
“He [PEDRO] joins us today with a shared ambition to create even greater synergy and to go further together in our mission to discover and develop artists on a global scale.”
Emmanuel de Buretel, Because Music Group
Emmanuel de Buretel, CEO and co-founder of Because Music Group, added: “We are delighted to welcome Pedro, who has been working alongside us for so long with his outstanding label.
“He joins us today with a shared ambition to create even greater synergy and to go further together in our mission to discover and develop artists on a global scale. His energy, experience, and artistic talent will be invaluable assets for the years ahead at Because France, as well as in his role within the global creative pool of the Because Group.”
Winter founded Ed Banger Records in 2003.
The label launched the careers of artists including Justice, DJ Mehdi, SebastiAn, Breakbot, Uffie and Myd.
He managed Daft Punk from 1996 to 2008 and has performed internationally as a DJ under the name Busy P.
The company describes Winter as a key architect of the French Touch movement and a central figure in the emergence of the Paris electronic scene of the 1990s.
In September 2024, Winter performed at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games at the Stade de France.
He was named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2024.
Because Music was founded in 2004 by Emmanuel de Buretel in London and Paris.
The label achieved early international recognition with Dimanche à Bamako by Amadou & Mariam, co-produced with Manu Chao.
Its roster has included Christine and the Queens, Metronomy, Major Lazer, London Grammar, Jorja Smith, Shygirl and Oklou, as previously covered by MBW.
Its publishing arm, Because Editions, represents the catalogs of Daft Punk and Justice, among others.
Because Music says it has been responsible for the catalog and artistic legacy of Daft Punk since 2022.
In recent years, it has expanded into hip hop and R&B through artists including Lartiste and Shay.
Because Music marked its 20th anniversary in October 2025 with Because Beaubourg, a two-day event at the Centre Pompidou that closed with a performance from Thomas Bangalter.
Entering 2026, the label’s releases have included new music from Sébastien Tellier and Rnboi, and What You Want by Angèle and Justice.Music Business Worldwide
An “infinite bowl-making machine” can make 500 salads, Tex-Mex, and poke bowls with the exact ingredients you want down to the personalized macros you’re tracking in one hour. A human worker can’t compare, according to entrepreneur Marc Lore.
“I don’t know exactly how many a single person can do, but it’s not going to be more than probably 30 an hour, maybe 45,” said Lore, who spoke at the 25th annual Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen on Tuesday. Lore previously sold two businesses, Diapers.com and Jet, to Amazon and Walmart, respectively, for $3.8 billion before founding food-tech startup Wonder in 2018, where he serves as chairman and CEO.
The automated infinite bowl technology, which Wonder acquired from salad chain Sweetgreen, spins each bowl on a turntable while ingredients drop into place, based on the specs from an online delivery app order. The resulting bowl, said Lore, has “no errors,” so a hungry patron gets exactly what they ordered. Lore said Sweetgreen already runs the infinite bowl tech across 32 locations, and it will land in its first Wonder kitchen next month.
Lore described Wonder as a “vertically integrated food platform” that owns 26 restaurant brands including a Bobby Flay steakhouse and delivery options that include fried chicken, pizza, Chinese, and Thai food. Wonder also owns and manages the kitchens, and handles delivery after buying GrubHub in a deal valued at $650 million that closed in 2025. By combining all the different brands in a single kitchen, Lore said Wonder can serve geographies and regions that don’t have the population numbers to support larger fast-casual chains like Chipotle or Cava.
With everything included in a single profit pool, Lore claims, the prices are less expensive because the margins don’t need to support both restaurants and delivery companies. A single 10-ounce Bobby Flay steak “cooked to perfection” costs $36 and bowls are under $10, he said.
“We can stay open until 2 a.m. in the suburbs because we can operate all 26 restaurants with three people late night,” Lore added. One human staffer answers the hotline, another handles finishing the dishes, and the third works the handoff to delivery drivers.
More from Fortune’s 25th Brainstorm Tech:
Anthropic’s Boris Cherny, creator of Claude Code, says there are days he manages tens of thousands of AI agents at once
Tesla cofounder: ‘We should be really worried’ about the U.S. grid as China speeds ahead in the power race
‘Getting control where we can’: Europe wants sovereign AI, but most of the chips are from the U.S.
Lore wants this business to have an indelible impact on the public company landscape and is pursuing an IPO, something that has eluded him, he told “The Aisle” founder Jason Del Rey.
“We are going to be ready to go public early next year,” said Lore, although the market will likely help dictate the timing of a potential public offering.
Lore, who also owns the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx basketball teams, said he wants to builds a “long-standing, legacy business that becomes a household name” with Wonder, and he said it has a competitive moat that AI can’t disrupt. And more machines are on the way. An “infinite sauce machine” can spin up 500 sauces an hour from 152 raw ingredients, said Lore, and an “infinite beverage machine” is slated for next year.
From there, Lore said he expects that some people will want to start their own delivery-based restaurants using Wonder. Through a feature he called Wonder Create, Lore said anyone can describe a concept in an AI prompt like, “build me a fast-casual Mexican restaurant for Gen Z, for people that love cycling.” From there, Wonder will output a branded restaurant concept, with its own name, menu, pricing, photos and nutrition information, built on Wonder’s automation in about two minutes. Lore said users can push their concepts live for $10 a month.
“Think Shopify on steroids,” Lore says. “You don’t have to do anything.”
Update 6/9/26: You can login and then check this link to see if you can refer. (ht sg77) You can also check the app or check the website – click card and then scroll to bottom-right. (ht FM)
Original Post 5/29/26:
Bank of America has launched a credit card referral program. Cardholders that refer a new cardholder that is approved will receive a bonus of $100.
Limit of 5 approved referrals
Limit of $500 in referral bonuses annually
Person being referred must use your unique link
Referral bonus will be received 60 days after approval
Person being referred seems to receive the standard sign up bonus on each card
Currently you can refer people to the following cards:
BankAmericard
Customized Cash Rewards
Premium Rewards
Travel Rewards
Unlimited Cash Rewards
Rakuten has recently offered bigger additional bonuses for the applicant on the Travel Rewards & Customized Cash Rewards card. Please do not share your referrals in the comments below, if any of these cards offer an increased bonus we will consider opening a referral thread for those specific cards.
