"Walmart Inc. (formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company was founded by brothers Sam and James "Bud" Walton in nearby Rogers, Arkansas in 1962 and incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law on October 31, 1969. It also owns and operates Sam's Club retail warehouses.

"Walmart is the world's largest company by revenue, with about US$570 billion in annual revenue, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in October 2022. It is also the largest private employer in the world with 2.2 million employees. It is a publicly traded family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family. Sam Walton's heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through both their holding company Walton Enterprises and their individual holdings. Walmart was the largest United States grocery retailer in 2019, and 65 percent of Walmart's US$510.329 billion sales came from U.S. operations.

"Walmart was listed on the New York Stock Exchange 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 New Jersey in November 1989, and the first California outlet opened in Lancaster, in July 1990. A Walmart in York, Pennsylvania, opened in October 1990, the first main store in the Northeast." (Wikipedia)

"From our humble beginnings as a small discount retailer in Rogers, Ark., Walmart has opened thousands of stores in the U.S. and expanded internationally," the official website says.

"Through innovation, we're creating a seamless experience to let customers shop anytime and anywhere online and in stores. We are creating opportunities and bringing value to customers and communities around the globe.

"Walmart operates approximately 10,500 stores and clubs in 20 countries and eCommerce websites. We employ 2.1 million associates around the world — nearly 1.6 million in the U.S. alone."

"Walmart, in full Walmart, Inc., formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., American operator of discount stores that was one of the world’s biggest retailers and among the world’s largest corporations. Company headquarters are in Bentonville, Arkansas," the Britannica says.

The company experienced a decline in sales immediately following Walton’s death in 1992 but rebounded with the introduction of the company’s house brand Great Value in 1993. In the years after Walton’s death, the company was less fiscally frugal, quickly accumulating corporate debt in order to finance such new strategies as a group of additional Wal-Mart Supercenters.

"The financial risk paid off: by 1995 Wal-Mart’s sales had doubled, by 1999 the company had become the world’s largest private employer, and by 2001 its total sales surpassed those of Exxon Mobil, ranking Wal-Mart as the largest corporation in the world."

"With 600 billion U.S. dollars in revenue, Walmart topped the ranking of the hundred largest companies globally, followed by the Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco. Walmart was also the largest company in the world based on its number of employees, with some 2.3 million all over the world," the Statista.com says.

"The American-based multinational corporation Walmart was founded in 1962 and currently operates over 10,600 stores worldwide, out of which 4,742 are in the United States alone. The company’s net profit amounted to just under 15 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. In 2022, Walmart was ranked the fourth most valuable retail brand in the world, with a brand value of about 61 billion U.S. dollars."

"Here are the top 10 largest U.S. companies for 2022 as ranked by Fortune," the CBS News says. 

1. Walmart

The world's largest retailer posted $611 billion in revenue last year, according to Fortune. Walmart has held the top spot for 11 years straight. 

2. Amazon

The online retailer generated in $514 billion in revenue last year. Amazon has been second on the list for four years.

3. Exxon Mobil

The oil company also had a banner year in 2022, raking in $413 billion in revenue and $55 billion in profit. Exxon Mobil moved into the third spot after bumping off Apple.

"Walmart established its predominance in the retail industry by taking several smart, timely steps. Since its inception in 1962, Walmart’s key focus has been keeping prices low," the Investing.com says.

"The company’s famous motto: “We save people money so they can live better,” has remained unchanged for over five decades, helping Walmart build a strong and loyal customer base. In the early ‘80s, Walmart was one of the first stores to capitalize on barcode technology to improve efficiency at the checkout.

"By adopting the barcode, Walmart immediately got an edge over its competitors. It could better track the movement of its goods, receive point-of-sale information in real time, and determine the right number of products for each store. Walmart also pioneered the supply chain strategy of cross-docking. It started moving products directly from a supplier or manufacturer to the retail chain, almost without storage or handling."

"Fortune has this week released its Fortune 500 for 2023, which ranks the biggest companies in the US by revenue," the Business Chief says. 

"Walmart once again tops the pile having generated income of more than US$600 billion, beating Amazon and ExxonMobil into second and third place respectively. 

"Meanwhile, the threshold for making this year’s prestigious list was US$7.238bn."

"Here are the 10 largest retailers, according to Forbes’ rankings:

1. Walmart
2. Amazon
3. Alibaba
4. CVS
5. Home Depot
6. Costco
7. Lowe’s
8. Target
9. JD.com
10. CK Hutchison Holdings (parent company of A.S. Watson)"

"With overall food prices rising 10% last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Walmart’s reputation for savings and discounts is attracting budget-conscious shoppers," the CNBC reports.

"Walmart is currently the largest grocer in the country by revenue, and its generally low grocery prices have attracted low, middle and high income customers, the company reported in its earnings report.

"Additionally, total revenue for fiscal year 2023 rose 6.7% to $611.3 billion, according to Walmart’s earnings report."

World's Largest Walmart Supercenter: world record in Albany, New York