Inside Wal-Mart’s global growth

Article Excerpt

Wal-Mart first expanded outside the U.S. in 1992, when it formed a joint venture to open stores in Mexico. It now operates in 26 foreign countries. These markets supply 29% of its revenue. Rather than building its own stores in new countries, Wal-Mart typically buys local chains. That way, it acquires established locations and brands. It can then use its huge purchasing power and distributing expertise to make these stores more profitable. Meanwhile in the U.S., Wal-Mart is boosting its sales by opening smaller stores in urban areas and speeding up delivery of goods ordered online. This should continue to give the company plenty of cash flow for share buybacks and dividends. WAL-MART STORES INC. $75 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio: Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 3.3 billion; Market cap: $247.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.walmart.com) is the world’s largest retailer. It has 10,800 stores in the U.S. and 26 other countries,…