Walmart is the world’s largest retailer by revenue and operates Sam’s Club.
Walmart was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. The company built its retail model around low prices, large stores, efficient distribution, and high sales volume. It now operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, e-commerce services, and membership warehouse clubs.
Sam’s Club launched in 1983 as Walmart’s warehouse-club business. It is named after Sam Walton and competes in a market that also includes Costco and other membership retailers. Walmart’s revenue scale and global operations have made it one of the world’s most valuable publicly traded companies.
Revenue and market capitalization measure different things. Revenue records sales over a period, while market capitalization reflects the stock market’s value of a company’s outstanding shares. A retailer can lead in revenue without always ranking first by market cap.