Walmart

Walmart Inc. ( /ˈwɔːlmɑːrt/ ⓘ; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of <a href="/facts/Hypermarket/FxyqrXu5">hypermarkets</a> (also called supercenters), discount <a href="/facts/Department_store/1W8nv8ub">department stores</a>, and <a href="/facts/Grocery_store/wvIJYWLV">grocery stores</a> in the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a> and 23 other countries. It is headquartered in <a href="/facts/Bentonville%2c_Arkansas/MgUcbMjo">Bentonville, Arkansas</a>. The company was founded in 1962 by brothers <a href="/facts/Sam_Walton/UoV2YjAG">Sam Walton</a> and <a href="/facts/Bud_Walton/6m9Vbluj">James "Bud" Walton</a> in nearby <a href="/facts/Rogers%2c_Arkansas/k4KljSmS">Rogers, Arkansas</a>. It also owns and operates <a href="/facts/Sam%2527s_Club/5M2oN2sh">Sam's Club</a> retail warehouses.
As of October 31, 2022, Walmart has 10,586 stores and clubs in 24 countries, operating under 46 different names. Walmart is the <a href="/facts/List_of_largest_companies_by_revenue/04ggJsHf">world's largest company by revenue</a>, according to the <a href="/facts/Fortune_Global_500/WxgLN2QM">Fortune Global 500</a> list in October 2022. Walmart is also the <a href="/facts/List_of_largest_United_States%25E2%2580%2593based_employers_globally/4fV4VrU5">largest private employer</a> in the world, with 2.1 million employees. It is a publicly traded family-owned business (the largest such business in the world), as the company is controlled by the <a href="/facts/Walton_family/kmSCzEul">Walton family</a>. Sam Walton's heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through both their holding company <a href="/facts/Walton_Enterprises/kmSCzEul">Walton Enterprises</a> and their individual holdings. 
Walmart was listed on the <a href="/facts/New_York_Stock_Exchange/XgSV32lk">New York Stock Exchange</a> in 1972. By 1988, it was the most profitable retailer in the U.S., and it had become the largest in terms of revenue by October 1989. The company was originally geographically limited to the South and lower Midwest, but it had stores from coast to coast by the early 1990s. Sam's Club opened in <a href="/facts/New_Jersey/pI5k19S7">New Jersey</a> in November 1989, and the first <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a> outlet opened in <a href="/facts/Lancaster%2c_California/cWkV0hVn">Lancaster</a>, in July 1990. A Walmart in <a href="/facts/York%2c_Pennsylvania/HwzbxG6B">York, Pennsylvania</a>, opened in October 1990, the first main store in the <a href="/facts/Northeastern_United_States/Xa8zQlkM">Northeast</a>. Walmart has been the subject of extensive criticism and legal scrutiny over its labor practices, environmental policies, <a href="/facts/Animal_welfare/R22EA5vT">animal welfare</a> standards, treatment of suppliers, handling of crime in stores, <a href="/facts/Business_ethics/FtabwSTC">business ethics</a>, and <a href="/facts/Safety_standards/3uuKRSd8">product safety</a>, with critics alleging that the company prioritizes profits at the expense of social and ethical responsibilities.
Walmart's investments outside the U.S. have seen mixed results. Its operations and subsidiaries in Canada, the United Kingdom (<a href="/facts/ASDA/62MVwXsl">ASDA</a>), Central America, Chile (<a href="/facts/L%25C3%25ADder/zmFNz06f">Líder</a>), and China are successful; however, its ventures failed in Germany, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Argentina.

Walmart open-in-new

Walmart