Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

The financial ratios over the periods from January 31, 2020, to January 31, 2025, reveal several significant trends.

Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The P/E ratio exhibits an overall upward trend, increasing from 21.69 in early 2020 to 35.2 by 2025. This indicates that the market has been progressively willing to pay more for each dollar of earnings, suggesting growing investor confidence in the company’s earnings future or potentially higher expectations for growth, despite some fluctuations particularly between 2023 and 2024.

Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

The P/OP ratio shows moderate volatility but trends upwards over the period. Starting at 15.69 in 2020, it rises to 23.31 by 2025, with some declines and rebounds. This suggests fluctuations in market valuation relative to operating profit, with a notable increase toward 2025, possibly reflecting improved profitability or shifts in market perception about operational efficiency.

Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio

The P/S ratio demonstrates a general upward movement, beginning at 0.62 in 2020 and reaching 1.01 in 2025. There is a dip around 2023, but the overall increase suggests that the company’s sales are being valued more highly in the market over time, possibly due to revenue growth or improved margins enhancing sales quality.

Price to Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

The P/BV ratio steadily increases from 4.32 in 2020 to 7.52 in 2025, marking the most pronounced growth among the ratios. This reflects a rising market valuation relative to the company’s net asset value, which may indicate expectations of higher future profitability, intangible asset appreciation, or premium market positioning.

Overall, the upward trends across all price-based valuation ratios suggest increasing investor optimism regarding the company’s earnings, operating profits, sales, and book value over the five-year period. The most significant growth in P/BV and P/E ratios may point to stronger confidence in both the company’s asset base and earnings capacity. However, some intermittent volatility, especially noticeable within the P/OP and P/S ratios, indicates that market perceptions have varied, possibly influenced by changes in operational performance or external market conditions during this timeframe.

Share Price

The share price showed a general upward trend over the observed period. Starting at $37.99 in January 2020, it increased steadily to $43.91 in 2021 and $48.48 in 2022. A slight decline was noted in 2023 when the price decreased to $46.47. However, the price rebounded strongly in subsequent years, rising to $60.68 in 2024 and reaching a peak of $85.35 by January 2025.

Earnings Per Share (EPS)

EPS demonstrated moderate fluctuations during the period. Beginning at $1.75 in 2020, it declined to $1.60 in 2021, followed by a small recovery to $1.66 in 2022. A decrease occurred again in 2023 to $1.44. From 2023 onwards, EPS increased significantly, reaching $1.92 in 2024 and $2.42 in 2025, marking the highest value within the timeframe.

Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The P/E ratio displayed a consistent upward trajectory over the years. Starting from 21.69 in 2020, it rose sharply to 27.47 in 2021 and 29.27 in 2022. This growth continued, peaking at 32.17 in 2023, with a minor decline to 31.52 in 2024, before increasing again to 35.2 in 2025. This pattern suggests an increasing market valuation relative to earnings over time.

Share Price Trend

The share price demonstrates a consistent upward trajectory over the analyzed periods. Starting at $37.99 in January 2020, it rises steadily to $60.68 by January 2024 and then shows a more pronounced increase reaching $85.35 in January 2025. This reflects a strong positive market valuation trend.

Operating Profit Per Share

Operating profit per share shows an overall upward trend with some fluctuations. It increased from $2.42 in 2020 to $3.14 in 2022, followed by a decline to $2.53 in 2023. Thereafter, a recovery occurs with growth to $3.35 in 2024 and $3.66 in 2025. This suggests some short-term challenges but a generally improving profitability per share in the longer term.

Price-to-Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

The P/OP ratio, indicating the market valuation relative to operating profit, fluctuates during the period. It starts at 15.69 in 2020, slightly increases to 16.46 in 2021, drops to 15.43 in 2022, and then rises to 18.4 in 2023. After a minor decline to 18.1 in 2024, it escalates significantly to 23.31 in 2025. This rising ratio in later periods may reflect heightened investor expectations or increased market optimism relative to operating profit.

General Observations

The combination of rising share price and operating profit per share alongside a generally increasing P/OP ratio suggests improving business performance accompanied by potentially growing investor confidence. The fluctuations in operating profit per share and the P/OP ratio highlight some periods of volatility or shifting market sentiment, but the overall growth patterns indicate a positive outlook over the five-year span.

Share Price Trends

The share price exhibited a generally upward trajectory from January 31, 2020, to January 31, 2025. It started at $37.99 and increased to $43.91 by 2021, then continued to rise to $48.48 in 2022. A slight dip was observed in 2023, where the price decreased to $46.47. However, from 2023 onward, there was a substantial increase, reaching $60.68 in 2024 and further accelerating to $85.35 in 2025. This indicates regained investor confidence and potentially strong market performance in the latter years.

Sales per Share Patterns

Sales per share followed a consistent upward trend throughout the entire period. Starting at $61.19 in 2020, sales per share increased steadily each year, reaching $65.70 in 2021, $68.78 in 2022, then $74.92 in 2023. The growth continued to $79.75 in 2024 and $84.14 in 2025. This steady rise in sales per share suggests growing revenue generation relative to the number of outstanding shares, reflecting operational growth and effective sales performance.

Price-to-Sales Ratio (P/S) Analysis

The price-to-sales ratio showed moderate fluctuations during the period under review. Initially, the ratio increased from 0.62 in 2020 to 0.67 in 2021 and further to 0.70 in 2022, implying that the market valuation was rising somewhat faster than sales. The ratio declined again in 2023 to 0.62, indicating a relative market valuation decrease compared to sales. However, a noticeable upward shift occurred in 2024, increasing the ratio to 0.76, followed by a significant jump to 1.01 in 2025. This suggests that by the end of the period, investors were willing to pay a premium for each dollar of sales, reflecting increased market optimism or expectations of future earnings growth.

Summary of Financial Indicator Relationships

The steady increase in sales per share accompanied by a rising share price and the fluctuation and eventual rise in the P/S ratio portray a complex picture. The decline in the P/S ratio in 2023 alongside a dip in share price indicates a momentary market downturn or adjustment. The subsequent sharp rise in share price and P/S ratio indicates recovery and enhanced investor sentiment, possibly driven by strong sales growth and perceived future potential. Overall, the financial indicators demonstrate stable operational growth with increasing market valuation towards the end of the period.

Share Price

The share price shows a consistent upward trend over the six-year period. It increased from $37.99 in 2020 to $85.35 in 2025. Notably, there was a slight dip in 2023, where the price decreased from $48.48 in 2022 to $46.47, before resuming its growth trajectory in subsequent years, reaching its highest point in 2025.

Book Value per Share (BVPS)

The BVPS also demonstrates a positive but more moderate growth trend compared to the share price. It increased from $8.79 in 2020 to $11.35 in 2025. There was a minor decline in 2023, where BVPS decreased from $10.08 in 2022 to $9.48, paralleling the temporary share price dip during the same period. Following this, BVPS recovered and continued its upward movement.

Price-to-Book Value Ratio (P/BV)

The P/BV ratio exhibits a clear increasing trend, rising from 4.32 in 2020 to 7.52 in 2025. This indicates that the market valuation relative to the book value of the company’s shares is increasing. The growth in this ratio accelerates particularly after 2023, reflecting a stronger market premium on the equity as compared to the underlying book value.

General Observations

Overall, the data highlights a robust appreciation in market valuation of the company’s shares beyond the growth in the book value per share. The rising P/BV ratio suggests increased investor confidence and perception of future growth or profitability that is not solely explained by book value increases. The brief declines in both share price and BVPS in 2023 could indicate a period of market adjustment or external pressures, but the subsequent recovery underscores resilience and continued positive market sentiment.