Amazon vs Walmart
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Amazon and Walmart side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Amazon is the larger business, with $716.9B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $713.2B for Walmart.
- Amazon grew revenue faster (12.4%, against 4.7%).
- Amazon kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (11.2% operating margin, against 4.2%).
- Walmart turned more of its sales into free cash flow (2.1% FCF margin, against 1.1%).
- Amazon earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (20.6%, against 16.1%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Walmart’s earnings: a P/E of 43.4x against 20.0x for Amazon.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Amazon
AMZN
7/11
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginReturn on capitalNet debt / EBITDA
Walmart
WMT
4/11
FCF marginReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | AMZN FY25 | WMT FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $2.72T | $959.7B |
| Revenue | $716.9B | $713.2B |
| Free cash flow | $7.7B | $14.9B |
| Net income | $77.7B | $21.9B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 12.4% | 4.7% |
| 5-year growth | 13.2% | 5.0% |
| Share count change | 1.0% | −0.7% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 50.3% | 24.9% |
| Operating margin | 11.2% | 4.2% |
| Net margin | 10.8% | 3.1% |
| FCF margin | 1.1% | 2.1% |
| Return on capital | 20.6% | 16.1% |
| Return on equity | 22.3% | 23.0% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$41.5B | $40.8B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.3x | 0.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $15.6B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 20.0x | 43.4x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 7 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.