Walmart’s Stock Split
As reported on Walmart’s official announcement, the retail giant will implement a 3 for 1 stock split. This means that for every share an investor owns, they will receive two additional shares, effectively tripling the number of shares they hold.
Why Is This Split Happening?
When asked about the reasoning behind the split, Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart said; “Sam Walton believed it was important to keep our share price in a range where purchasing whole shares, rather than fractions, was accessible to all of our associates. Given our growth and our plans for the future, we felt it was a good time to split the stock and encourage our associates to participate in the years to come. As Sam said, ‘We’re all in this together. That’s the secret.’”
When Will Shares Be Issued?
The shares to be issued in the stock split will be payable after market close on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, for shareholders of record at the close of business on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Shareholders will receive a distribution of two additional shares of common stock for each share held. Walmart’s common stock will begin trading on a post-split basis at the market open on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, under the company’s existing trading symbol “WMT.” The stock split and final ratio were approved by Walmart’s board.
Has This Happened Before?
It’s been over two decades since WMT has enacted a stock split and this is the first time in company history that a 3:1 split has occurred. Previous splits include:
- 1999 – 2:1 (512)
- 1993 – 2:1 (256)
- 1990 – 2:1 (128)
- 1987 – 2:1 (64)
- 1985 – 2:1 (32)
- 1983 – 2:1 (16)
- 1982 – 2:1 (8)
- 1980 – 2:1 (4)
- 1975 – 2:1 (2)
If you had bought just one share of Walmart stock at IPO and you continued to hold through every split, you will have a total of 1,536 shares when the stock splits again on February 23rd of this year. Congratulations to the long-term investors!
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