Retail giant Walmart Inc WMT opened its first store in 1962 in Arkansas and has since expanded to have more than 10,500 stores across the U.S. and around the world.
The company is one of the largest retailers and companies in the world today, a move that may have been helped by going public in 1970.
Here's a look at how much an investment in Walmart at the time of its IPO could be worth today.
What Happened: Walmart opened its first store in July 1962 and in five years had 24 stores doing $12 million in annual sales. Today, the company is one of the largest retailers and constantly expanding into new areas and evolving its technology.
Incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores in 1969, the company laid out a plan to expand nationally in the 1970s. To help with expansion and financials, the company decided to publicly list its shares.
"We wanted to expand, and we realized we weren't generating enough profits both to expand and to pay off our debts …. (Bud and I) agreed to seriously explore the possibilities of going public. It was a huge step for us," Walmart co-founderSamWaltonsaid.
Walmart held its initial price offering Oct.1, 1970 with shares priced at $16.50 and traded over-the-counter. Shares quadrupled in two years and were later uplisted to the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 25, 1972.
The rest, as they say, is history, with Walmart shares enjoying a strong return over the years and the company expanding nationally and internationally to become a top global brand, even topping the Fortune 500 list for many years as the top revenue generating public company.
Related Link: Walmart’s Store Managers Stand To Gain $20K In Stock Annually, Exceeding $525K In Total Compensation
Investing $1,000 In Walmart IPO:Walmart offered shares for $16.50 on Oct. 1, 1970 for its IPO. A $1,000 investment could have purchased 60.61 shares of Walmart stock.
Over the years, Walmart had had 11 2-for-1 stock splits, doubling the number of shares on each occasion. The 60.61 shares would have turned into 124,129.28 shares after the stock splits.
The $1,000 investment in Walmart stock at IPO would be worth $20,785,447.94 today based on a price of $167.45 for Walmart at the time of writing.
This represents a strong hypothetical return and doesn't take into account the quarterly dividend payments that Walmart has paid out since 1974 that would add to the overall return.
Walmart recently announced it would be splitting shares again. While a stock split doesn't mean the valuation will go up, it could continue a tradition of the company growing its stock price and valuation over time.
Read Next: Analysts Adjust Walmart Estimates: Mixed Responses To Q3 Results with Focus On Sales Growth & Expense Concerns
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FAQs
This was Walmart's first official meeting of shareholders. In its initial public offering (IPO), Walmart stock debuted at $15 per share. With an increase to $16.50, the six shareholders had reason to smile! The IPO was a success.
How much was $1000 in Walmart stock in 1970? ›
Investing $1,000 In Walmart IPO: Walmart offered shares for $16.50 on Oct. 1, 1970 for its IPO. A $1,000 investment could have purchased 60.61 shares of Walmart stock.
How do you calculate IPO stock price? ›
How Is the IPO Share Price Decided? A valuation is given to the company with the input of an investment bank and that value is then divided by the total number of shares to be issued to arrive at a price per share.
How do you calculate profit from an IPO? ›
To calculate the percentage gain, you need two factors - selling price (value of the asset at the time of selling it) and buying price (value of the asset at the time of purchase). You can calculate percentage gain in absolute terms by subtracting the purchase price from the selling price.
Who owns the biggest stock in Walmart? ›
FAQ. Jim Walton owns the most shares of Walmart (WMT).
How much was the first Walmart stock per share? ›
To call Walmart's stock performance phenomenal would be an understatement. The first offering, on October 1, 1970, was $16.50 per share. Since then, Walmart stock has split two-for-one 11 times.
What is the IPO stock price? ›
At its core, the IPO price is based on the valuation of the company using fundamental techniques. The most common technique used is discounted cash flow, which is the net present value of the company's expected future cash flows. Underwriters and interested investors look at this value on a per-share basis.
What is the price range of IPO? ›
When a company announces its IPO, it does not mention a single price. It mentions a range of price within which you can place your bid. For example, in the IPO of food delivery giant Zomato, price range was Rs 72 - Rs 76. Cutoff price is the maximum issue price.
What is the offer price in IPO? ›
An offering price refers to the price of a stock set by an investment bank during the IPO process. An offering price is based on the company's legitimate prospects and set at a level that will attract interest from the general investing public.
How do I calculate my stock profit? ›
To calculate your profit or loss, subtract the current price from the original price, also called the "cost basis." The percentage change takes the result from above, divides it by the original purchase price, and multiplies that by 100.
Investors can sell IPO shares on the listing day, typically starting from 10:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Selling IPO shares on the listing day involves using a preferred stockbroker's trading platform, navigating to the holdings section, selecting shares to sell, choosing quantity and price, and executing the sell order.
How do you calculate IPO money left on the table? ›
The money left on the table is defined as the difference between the closing price on the first day of trading and the offer price, multiplied by the number of shares sold. In other words, this is the first-day profit received by investors who were allocated shares at the offer price.
What was Walmart's stock price at it's IPO in 1969? ›
WMT long-term stock history data by YCharts, Wal-Mart has had 11 two-for-one stock splits since its initial public offering, so that 100 shares purchased at the IPO price of $16.50 (for a total investment of $16,500) would today amount to over 200,000 shares and $14 million of equity.
How much was a share of Walmart stock in 1980? ›
Compare WMT With Other Stocks
| Walmart Historical Annual Stock Price Data |
|---|
| Year | Average Stock Price | Year Close |
|---|
| 1982 | 0.0942 | 0.1569 |
| 1981 | 0.0582 | 0.0668 |
| 1980 | 0.0328 | 0.0476 |
49 more rowsThe closing price for Walmart (WMT) in 1984 was $0.24, on December 31, 1984. It was down 2.7% for the year. The latest price is $64.65.
How much was Walmart stock in 1994? ›
The closing price for Walmart (WMT) in 1994 was $2.23, on December 30, 1994.
