Walmart: My recession resistant stock
Growing my position
Living in New York, you get a little bourgeoisie with bodega’s and supermarkets on every corner. Throw in the fact that there’s no Walmart in the city, you begin to forget the behemoth of a company it is. I can remember my college days, Walmart was the spot to get all my essentials like noodles and pop-tarts every week. It was also 24-hours and I never thought of it as an investment…until now.
In 2023, Walmart reported $264 billion in grocery sales..that’s more than Kroger and Albertson’s combined at $229 billion! I know what you’re going to say…well Amazon is king! On the e-commerce side, absolutely, but Walmart is gaining ground with their own prime-like subscription with Walmart-plus. As they expand their online delivery business, Walmart is creating a juggernaut on their own in addition to physical stores which they are remodeling to become more efficient with layout, products, and technology.
Walmart has always been seen as a rural, middle America grocery store. You have Target, Costco and other upscale grocers for high-income customers. But since the pandemic, more affluent shoppers are choosing Walmart (Read). Why? With the influx of lost jobs, a bad economy, and inflation…consumers are more conscious with their money. Walmart offers the best deals from a pricing standpoint and I mean, why not save on some paper towels and toilet paper? By expanding their premium product offering, Walmart may take more market share. This is why its my recession-proof stock. No matter what, we need to shop for our monthly essentials to survive. Walmart may see some rough patches but its a necessity. Let me be clear, Walmart is not a high-flying stock! It is for slow & steady growth with low volatility when we see bad times economically. It’s one of my sleeper stocks right now and I continue to buy on dips.
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor and thoughts here are my own.