For Cheddar's Generation Trader series, sponsored by E*TRADE, we are going to highlight the most compelling business stories moving the market while utilizing E*TRADE's innovative trading platform. Cheddar Anchors Hope King and Baker Machado explain the factors driving Walmart's growth in the retail space.
Walmart is quietly outperforming the retail sector and the broader market. Walmart acquired Jet.com last year, and e-commerce sites Bonobos and Modcloth in 2017. The company is holding its own against the likes of Amazon.
Amazon and Walmart have both grown more than 40 percent year-to-date. On Wednesday, in a blog post, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announced the company is changing its corporate name from "Wal-Mart Stores" to "Walmart." McMillon wrote, "changing our corporate name to Walmart is a way of better reflecting our company's path to win the future of retail."
Investors weren't jolted by the downgrade because they already know the fractured state of U.S. politics, the size of the country's public debt, and the challenges it faces to pay for Social Security, Medicare and other expenses.
The national average for gas prices stood at about $3.78 a gallon on Tuesday — about 25 cents higher than that seen one month ago, according to motor club AAA. While today's prices at the pump remain far lower than they were last year, when energy costs soared worldwide in the months following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, experts say such a jump is unusual.
